Pinole's Elementary Students More Fit Than Older Ones

Depending on the school they attend, some Pinole students are in better physical shape than others compared to their peers across California, with middle and high school students lagging behind, according to numbers released by the state this week. Pinole's elementary school students generally fared better than older students in the rankings.

The study measured public school students in fifth, seventh and ninth grades for aerobic capacity, body composition, abdominal strength, trunk extensor strength, upper body strength and flexibility. Each of the Pinole schools scored zero percent of students achieving a healthy level of flexibility except for the high school, where 2.4 percent were considered in the "healthy" zone for flexibility.

Pinole Middle School students met or exceeded the statewide results only in body composition and trunk extensor strength. High school ninth graders did not reach the statewide percentage of students in the healthy zone for any of the categories.

The percentage of students that met the "healthy fitness zone" for various categories are listed below, followed by the statewide results in parentheses. The California Department of Education compiled the information from data collected in the 2009-10 school year. Full data are available at the  California Physical Fitness Test results page. It is searchable by district or by school.

Ellerhorst Elementary fifth graders

Aerobic capacity 85 percent (65 percent)

Body composition 68 percent (69 percent)

Abdominal strength 93 percent (80 percent)

Trunk extensor strength 78 percent (88 percent)

Upper body strength 68 percent (69 percent)

Collins Elementary fifth graders 

Aerobic capacity 44 percent (65 percent)

Body composition 69 percent (69 percent)

Abdominal strength  80 percent (80 percent)

Trunk extensor strength 69 percent (88 percent)

Upper body strength 49 percent (69 percent)

Shannon Elementary fifth graders

Aerobic capacity 37 percent (65 percent)

Body composition 71 percent (69 percent)

Abdominal strength 92 percent (80 percent)

Trunk extensor strength 71 percent (88 percent)

Upper body strength 71 percent (69 percent)

Stewart Elementary fifth graders

Aerobic capacity 36 percent (65 percent)

Body composition 69 percent (69 percent)

Abdominal strength 97 percent (80 percent)

Trunk extensor strength 97 percent (88 percent)

Upper body strength 73 percent (69 percent)

Pinole Middle seventh graders

Aerobic capacity 41 percent (67 percent)

Body composition 75 percent (69 percent)

Abdominal strength 67 percent (85 percent)

Trunk extensor strength 90 percent (90 percent)

Upper body strength 46 percent (73 percent)

Pinole Valley High ninth graders

Aerobic capacity 52 percent (64 percent)

Body composition 70 percent (71 percent)

Abdominal strength 81 percent (87 percent)

Trunk extensor strength 76 (92 percent)

Upper body strength 70 percent (77 percent)