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Less than 10% of High School Seniors in Texas Are 'In Shape'

chron.com — Results of a new state physical fitness test confirmed fears that Texas children, especially teenagers, are seriously out of shape. The fitness assessment of 2.6 Million students, concludes that only 30% of third-graders reached healthy performance levels in all six areas tested. By the 12th grade, less than 10% made passing marks.

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  • Leomarth, on 07/03/2008, -19/+17I'm kind of trying to figure out what the obsession is with fat people? I really don't care if someone wants to eat a few hundred cheeseburgers, or doesn't want to work out. It's their issue; not mine.
    • BrownManUPS, on 07/04/2008, -4/+21It's not an obsession, it is pointing out a society problem: kids these days eat the wrong foods and live a slightly unhealthy lifestyle. If ever you have a kid (or have one), you'll want to be sure that they are on the right track, or else your kid may be in that 90%.
      • Leomarth, on 07/05/2008, -4/+1I have to disagree. There is a difference between saying there is an issue, and then hyping the issue each and every day. It is especially telling when the vast majority of the stories are about American weight problems when there are many countries that are just as overweight (or moreso) than America.
    • nebben, on 07/05/2008, -5/+28Umm, because we [healthy people and not healthy people] will end up paying for their worse health over their lifetimes. Also, from an economic standpoint, unhealthy people [obese or otherwise] wont be as productive as healthy people, causing a reduction in GDP. That means more money is going to be spent eventually fixing people [unhealthy/obese high school students in this case] that can't work as hard, and less money will go into people's pockets + resulting in less tax revenues. In a nutshell at least...
      • popfrogs, on 07/05/2008, -0/+4When 60% of the GDP is from consumer spending, and with America having very little manufacturing capacity left, it honestly doesn't make a whole lot of difference if everyone is fat and lazy.

        However the larger concern of public health is a big deal.
      • Leomarth, on 07/05/2008, -4/+1So, the premise then is that if something is good for the "general society", that we can then force compliance and/or belittle people about their private lives?

        Did you know that driving cars contributes to auto accidents, which then drags down the GDP and makes people unhealthy?
        Did you know that playing sports is the number one contributing factor to sports related injuries, which then we all have to pay for through higher health insurance premiums?

        If the theory is that when something takes away from productivity, or we have to spend money on fixing the issue, that we should then take social and legal action to prevent these things; then there are many other issues that need to be addressed as well. And many of those issues will be more popular than someone who wants to eat themselves into bad health.

        Your desire to maintain your own social benefits, by limiting those of others, is not a valid justification to pry into others lives.
      • ch33sehead, on 07/05/2008, -0/+3Leomarth, wtf? Who's limiting anyone's desires? This is an article reporting on how 10% of high school seniors in Texas fit their definition of "in shape." It's not an article about forcing fatties to go to fat camp.
    • KnightMareInc, on 07/05/2008, -3/+14its only going to increase to the cost of living for everybody else.
      • Leomarth, on 07/05/2008, -1/+1And that is the cost you pay when people drive, get involved in sports, have work related injuries, fly, get old, etc.

        If you don't want to pay the social cost for others, then change the system to where costs are not distributed socially.
    • wautrey, on 07/05/2008, -6/+1It's quite simple really. In the media it's become politically-incorrect to point out the differences of "short" people, "ugly" people, "stupid" people, people of other races, etc...In general it's still quite acceptable to point and jeer at FAT people because they're the only scapegoat we have left.

      Trifle silly really. People are people...just leave it at that.

      And balls to the whole "drain on our healthcare" *****. The largest drain, BY FAR is senior citizens.
  • cptshamrock, on 07/03/2008, -3/+64Round's a shape
    • grantmoore3d, on 07/05/2008, -1/+7Yeah, the wrong shape.... wow, that was mean, I'm sorry.
    • aronnyc, on 07/05/2008, -0/+0Hah, good one. Although I don't think being out of shape necessarily mean that you're overweight, at least not the way it was described in the article.
  • bensone1, on 07/04/2008, -5/+25I guess that proves that everything is big in Texas. Yee-haw.
  • Rudegar, on 07/05/2008, -9/+5give them a Wii ?
  • SemiSarcastic, on 07/05/2008, -2/+12*sigh*...here we go again.

    /from Texas.
    • jo21, on 07/05/2008, -0/+1no, they want good games like metal gear solid 4
    • ChantryChantry, on 07/05/2008, -0/+1nahh, don't worry about it. when we took it, no one actually put any effort into it. so i imagine that these statistics are completely false.
  • joker10687, on 07/05/2008, -9/+4Fatties...
  • ghee, on 07/05/2008, -1/+27Walle-E is going to become a realit-E.
    • gaoshan, on 07/05/2008, -1/+11Saw Wall-E today with my (little) kids. Coming out a morbidly obese couple was walking (waddling?) in front of us and my daughter pointed and said, "Look Daddy, Wall-E people!"

      I suspect we will call them that from now on.
  • chaos7, on 07/05/2008, -4/+10fat chicks suck
    • pwnerofnoobs, on 07/05/2008, -1/+13Yes and some are very good at it.
      • gak001, on 07/05/2008, -1/+9Well, if you don't have certain product qualities typically expected by the consumer, then you need to specialize in order to maintain your marketability.
      • VinceNoir, on 07/05/2008, -1/+2@gak001

        You mean they do scat, humiliation porn and fart domination? I did not know that!
    • moviscop, on 07/05/2008, -1/+7your mom was extraordinary.
    • DemonSpawn77, on 07/05/2008, -0/+5I've heard that fat chicks give good head BECAUSE THEY'RE HUNGRY!
  • SouljaBoyGoDie, on 07/05/2008, -3/+12It's not only in texas. It's here in new york too. ***** McDonalds...
  • scarecrow2k6, on 07/05/2008, -7/+0What is the definition of irony?
    • dlsspy, on 07/05/2008, -0/+12irony 1 |ˈīrənē; ˈiərnē|
      noun ( pl. -nies)
      the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect : “Don't go overboard with the gratitude,” he rejoined with heavy irony. See note at wit .
      • a state of affairs or an event that seems deliberately contrary to what one expects and is often amusing as a result : [with clause ] the irony is that I thought he could help me.
      • (also dramatic or tragic irony) a literary technique, originally used in Greek tragedy, by which the full significance of a character's words or actions are clear to the audience or reader although unknown to the character.
  • beguiledfoil, on 07/05/2008, -9/+2Anyone know wtf a trunk lift is? How far are you expected to lift your head?! The rest of that test is definitely ridiculous, I could pass the 17 year old one when I was 8...
  • Beevo, on 07/05/2008, -2/+9Sad? Yes. Shocking? No

    Look at their parents. And I say that as a Texan....not native but I do live here.
  • NeelxSarkar, on 07/05/2008, -5/+52I live in Texas and had to do this test, those results are because no one took it seriously, for the mile we walked around a track, I think about 3 people ran.
    For the situp and pushup test, we were supposed to go until we couldn't anymore; everyone just did 1 and then said thats it.
    It was a waste of time/money and these "results" don't mean anything.
    • neil1492, on 07/05/2008, -4/+31Now the rest of the country thinks Texans are lazy fatties. Good job not taking it seriously!
    • Daiken, on 07/05/2008, -5/+9The fact that you guys didn't take it seriously doesn't help the cause. As neil pointed out, it just shows how lazy you guys are.
      • L4WL3RS34L, on 07/05/2008, -1/+4Are you trying to say that Texas is the only state that doesn't take it seriously? Kids tend to not give a ***** about these things, no matter where they are in the country.
      • nigh7dagger, on 07/05/2008, -1/+5Yeah, so a bunch of ***** high school seniors are going to try to do something that doesn't make a difference for them? At my school, they said that the results wouldn't affect whether we graduated or not, so everybody just hung out for the period they did the testing. I'm pretty sure it would've been the same even in Colorado (the least fat state).
      • brettmurf, on 07/05/2008, -0/+3At least in earlier education we had yearly events that involved physical tests like this. People got into it 15 years ago here in Michigan. I doubt they are as in to the activities now, or at older ages. However, I wouldn't be surprised to find Texas in a lower tier for this testing, despite how bad it would be everywhere else in 2008. People really are fatter and lazier now.
    • ChantryChantry, on 07/05/2008, -0/+1nailed it. i don't know anyone who actually put forth any effort for that thing. i mean i got to 3 sit ups and decided it was a waste of my time and just quit.
    • ratedsar, on 07/05/2008, -0/+2Fit people like working out. I had to do tests like these in Georgia a few years back and took it as an opportunity to set personal bests. I would think that a majority of the passing percent here were the athletes that actually are in shape. Heck, for anybody in reasonable shape a single 11.5 minute mile is slacking off.
  • Grolsch, on 07/05/2008, -4/+6Its all fun and games for you all but I am stuck here =(
    The worst part, local chicks not only fat but proud of it too
    • popfrogs, on 07/05/2008, -0/+2Go a few hours north to Oklahoma where everyone is fat, hell, Texas isn't even on the top ten list of fatass states while OK is. You'll come back here with fresh eyes.
    • IndigoMoss, on 07/05/2008, -1/+1I once stayed with my friend in Alabama for a week and there was nothing but fatties everywhere. I mean you seriously could not walk into any restaurant and not see at least 10 obese people. The worst part is, even the chicks our age were pretty fat. On the bright side, it was extremely easy for us to get alcohol, which was the whole reason we went up there in the first place (we were 17 at the time).
  • TastyBiscuit, on 07/05/2008, -1/+13To be honest, the story did not take into account that there was no set minimum for anything, so no one took it seriously (I took the test). The people that were taking it were mostly fit, not obese or anything, but they were walking because there was no motivation to do it whatsoever. They need to fix this if they want accurate results rather than assuming everyone is going to do their best all the time.
    • popfrogs, on 07/05/2008, -3/+7No motivation, like a hot dog on the end of a string?

      I see where this is going.
  • CryTekEmployee, on 07/05/2008, -17/+5hhahaahahaahahaha, TEXAS BLOWS. California OWNS Texas!
  • jimmiss, on 07/05/2008, -7/+2I guess everything really IS bigger in texas
  • Borgcube636, on 07/05/2008, -5/+6I just do not understand how anyone could live and be ok with being fat. It's so unhealthy and restricting - don't they care about themselves?
  • LSDRunner, on 07/05/2008, -3/+4Kids need to be taught how to exercise! It doesn't need to be brutal. I think most kids these days have misconceived ideas about what exercise is, because they've NEVER BEEN EXPOSED TO IT. It doesn't need to be feared! Play a game of soccer, enjoy a nice slow jog, go for a hike and snap digi pics.. LIVE LIFE! Unfortunately, with all the cuts in physical education, and with parents taking an increasingly hands off role in child bearing (who themselves are carrying around unhealthy habits anyway), it's just going to get worse. Unless Wii fit keeps growing in popularity.. that's the only way to get the fat kids moving, it seems.

    /goes back to smoking bong
    • InetRoadkill, on 07/05/2008, -0/+3Eesh. I'm damn near 50 and I can pass that test. At least I don't have to worry about getting jumped by some high schooler.

      I seem to remember hearing that schools have been cutting back on PE classes which might explain these results in part.
      • Superman7507, on 07/05/2008, -1/+1PE is a waste of time.

        I took comps to get out of it so i could take more classes that give me college credit. Something im going to actually use.

        "Im standing in a room full of strangers, and from what i learned in PE, im going to throw a red ball at a fat guy"
        -Jim Gaffigan
      • InetRoadkill, on 07/05/2008, -0/+2Aside from dodge ball, all I remember from PE classes was running laps around the field, wind sprints, push ups, and millions of sit-ups. I guess school has changed a lot since then.
    • Unnis, on 07/05/2008, -0/+1PE is the most buckshotted course I've seen. Most of the marks relate to participation, as opposed to other performance-based courses. Also, high-school PE doesn't teach you how to excel at something, just how to do the basics.

      The only way to be healthy is to actually know how to exercise - including procedures and milestones. Take the hundredpushups.com website - that site shows you a procedure for becoming "healthy" (at least for number of pushups). They give initial milestones in increments of 5 (later switching to larger intervals), and a workout pattern that should help you reach the highest milestone. In fact, that was the only time I've seen performance-based PE, outside of school (and perhaps years too late, since I'm already past the growth spurt.)
  • juahomeus, on 07/05/2008, -0/+5So, if this is true why do they have so many damn good high school football teams?
    • onux16, on 07/05/2008, -1/+4because those players are the 10%
      • brettmurf, on 07/05/2008, -0/+4Jokes? Most high school football players are not physically fit, and I doubt could pass a good portion of these tests. Then 10% of them are really good athletes to do the quality work that scores points or gets scholarships. Have you ever watched a high school football game? Most of the team moves a solid 3 feet then gets a nice long breather.

        Moving lots of weight while standing still ≠ being fit
  • rjc5056, on 07/05/2008, -9/+1"Our children's health is in jeopardy"
    Um... you might want to focus on English, too, while you're at it, Texas.
    • dlsspy, on 07/05/2008, -0/+1What words would you use to indicate the jeopardy of the health of the children?
    • Ohnodonho, on 07/05/2008, -0/+6This seems like a grammatically correct sentence to me.
    • kaminariko, on 07/05/2008, -1/+3Our children's health is in jeopardy.

      The health of our children is in jeopardy.

      The subject is health (singular) not children, therefore the verb is singular (to be - is - 3rd person singular). Subject/Verb agreement is a basic elementary level academic skill in Texas.
      Where do you live?

      /Texas English teacher (no, that's not an oxymoron)
    • rjc5056, on 07/05/2008, -2/+1Mea culpa: I misread it as a non collective.
  • icdapoakr, on 07/05/2008, -3/+12Not going to lie, if i took that test when I was senior I think I would fail the running portion. I started to work out constantly when I started smoking weed and had a free gym available to me at my local college.
    • LSDRunner, on 07/05/2008, -2/+5Once again, weed is the answer.
    • KingGorilla, on 07/05/2008, -0/+4How did the weed help?
      • Buddhist, on 07/05/2008, -0/+1It makes it more interesting and you don't get bored of it as easily as you might normally do
      • icdapoakr, on 07/05/2008, -1/+0Buddhist is right. It also helps me fight through the fatigue and run longer distances. It's also an incentive to go work out.
  • Apolloblue20, on 07/05/2008, -3/+2This is sad, the fitness requirements weren't even that high, and yet only 10% of 12th graders could pass. I can only think how much money these kids are going to have to spend on health care by the time they're 30.
  • Naieve, on 07/05/2008, -2/+10What do people expect?

    You think these kids are just going to raise themselves?

    That takes active parenting. I know, sooooooo 1940's...
  • ThatDustyGuy, on 07/05/2008, -4/+1The "less than 10%" must be all the football players there.
    • gfxlonghorn, on 07/05/2008, -2/+2Uhhh yeah no.. more like only running backs, recievers and corners.
      • ratedsar, on 07/05/2008, -0/+1Most high school linemen can run a mile in under 11.5 minutes. Linemen still undoubtedly have lifting/conditioning school and then practice where if they are the weakest link they get punished. Sure they're heavy, but the also spend practice pushing sleds and other players around.
  • dusanmal, on 07/05/2008, -0/+6Have anyone read the article? It is not about fat kids (although you could draw the parallel). It is about Physical Education standards, most likely written by some high school dropout who got a "degree" in "Physical Education". Do find those standards, you'll see that they are bizarre.
    Physical Education should be eradicated from any schooling as a "subject". Kids should be given choice of the sport they like and play it for fun (or more if inclined). People with "Physical Education" degrees should be sent to work with sweaty paying adults in gyms, where they belong.
    • LSDRunner, on 07/05/2008, -1/+3No one reads the articles. I've only been here a short time but have deduced that much :p

  • gfxlonghorn, on 07/05/2008, -2/+4Gotta love it, gives us people who are in shape an advantage over the other 90%... The fatter everyone else gets, the better I look.
    • nephari, on 07/05/2008, -1/+1Until you look at the rest of the world.
      • gfxlonghorn, on 07/05/2008, -0/+2What about the rest of the world.. there are fat people here in Texas now, carpe diem motha *****.
  • nano19, on 07/05/2008, -0/+5I took this fitness test and passed. Im in a soccer team so it was all easy, at least for me.
    Also most of the students in my school failed only because they chose to, because they did not put any effort and some didnt even show.
    I can say that some of the people who failed are not fat at all, such as girls who are too "girlie" to do push ups.
    So the scores should have been a lot higher.
    Just FYI
  • Cajaks2, on 07/05/2008, -1/+3heh i go to an all boys school in maryland (private) that is k-12. we are required every day atheltics for an hour, usually in a dedicated sport 2 hours, i dont think we have any unfit people, if you dont run under a 8 minute mile your considered slow as crap
  • cptcaucasian, on 07/05/2008, -3/+1"We cannot allow an entire generation of Texans to grow up and live a shorter life than previous generations." - uh yeah we can =D this looks like the result of retarded ass parents with disgustingly bad lifestyle setting bad examples for their fatass kids. do i really need to comment on the texas school systems...
  • gak001, on 07/05/2008, -4/+1Um... it's Texas... what were you expecting? They're not all cowboys.
    • diemunkiesdie, on 07/05/2008, -0/+2You take that back! We ARE all cowboys! I can go outside and have my horse tell you so in just 2 seconds!
  • restlessmouse, on 07/05/2008, -4/+5Yeah man, I tell ya what, man. That dang ol' Internet, man. You just go on there and point and click. Talk about W-W-dot-W-com. An' lotsa nekkid chicks on there, man. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. It's real easy, man.

    Or more to the point;

    Bobby Hill: Mom, I'm fat.
    Peggy Hill: No, honey, you're not. You're husky. It says so on your jeans.
  • schnikies79, on 07/05/2008, -2/+3It's easy

    get off your ass..
  • XorpheusX, on 07/05/2008, -2/+14I'm a senior in high school in the San Antonio area, and this test was ridiculous. As far as I know, a majority of our school's ATHLETES struggled with the demands of this test, and a good number of them failed as a result.

    Most people are against the test existing in the first place, and don't think it'll still be happening in the next few years.

    Think about it. They've taken vending machines out of schools, yet we can still bring in whatever the hell kind of food we want from home for our lunches. Now we have a mandatory physical fitness test, but how are they supposed to force us to keep to these same standards (which as I've said, are a stretch for most people taking the test) when we're at home? Like the first commenter said, "It's their issue; not mine," and the same applies to the Texas lawmakers that think this will magically fix everything and make everyone want to be healthy - guess what? Like hell it will. Students are going to keep doing whatever they're already doing, just that now they have to do this test once a year. And that's their problem - if they want to fix it, great, if not, fine.

    And if anyone is wondering, yes, I did fail the test, and I understand if that revelation brings on some "pot calling the kettle black" responses, but I can't think of more than a few people that passed.
    • diemunkiesdie, on 07/05/2008, -0/+1You actually tried on the test? When I had to take it, only the people in the first period class tried. Then when everyone found out it wasn't for a grade they just did one push up or one sit up or simply walked the track. Must've been different back in my day (2006), looks like you guys actually care!
      • XorpheusX, on 07/05/2008, -1/+2Heh, most people didn't care. Even though it was pointless, I went ahead and did my best for my own sake (I don't get a whole lot of exercise, though that said I did march/play a sousaphone in a parade today - 1.5 miles). A couple of guys I knew said they were going to do this during the running:

        Guy 1: "Oh, my asthma!" (as he grabs his side in "pain")
        Guy 2: "Oh, his asthma!" (the same)

        But they didn't, which is horrible, because that would've been amazing.

        Another friend of mine protested by doing one of everything, and when she told one of the coaches administering the test that she thought it was stupid, the coach seemed offended (read: got mad), even though she claimed to agree that it was meaningless.
  • Xvash2, on 07/05/2008, -2/+15I live in Texas, and nobody took the test seriously. In fact, people would try to do the mile as slow as physically possible.
  • neil1492, on 07/05/2008, -4/+2Poor Texas. If we keeping picking on it they might want to go to war with the rest of the country. Seriously though, where did it all go wrong?
  • TheMachine1, on 07/05/2008, -5/+1I dropped out before my senior year. .
  • cptcaucasian, on 07/05/2008, -5/+0as someone in his early 20's. i can fulfill double the requirements for seniors after binge drinking all night, with 10 pound weights wrapped around my limbs. run a mile? i'll give you 10. if you have no motivation to do 12 push-ups just for the hell of it, how do you even motivate yourself to put your pants on in the morning?
  • arunforce, on 07/05/2008, -0/+4A trunk lift... That's *****, and probably the biggest issue.

    Never did one before my life. I can do 60 push ups, but I struggled doing 1 trunk lift. I'm pretty sure I can pass everything else with flying colors.
  • damentz, on 07/05/2008, -1/+7I was in this fitness test as a graduating student from Leander ISD. The fitness test was a joke.

    You did 75 sit ups (sounds fine)
    Then you can choose how many push ups you want to do (everyone did like 2 and three people did like 50)
    Then you need to run a mile in 12 minutes (noone ran, we just walked and blocked people until they blared their whistle)

    Then they made fun of your weight by saying it out loud as you stepped on a "new technology" weight machine.

    That thing isn't legit since they didn't make you do anything, so _no one_ did anything.
    • XorpheusX, on 07/05/2008, -0/+3The way our school did it, we didn't actually run a mile in the form of, say, laps around a track. We had a small amount of track that was assigned to a group of about 8 people, and ran back and forth, I think the requirement was 71 times (point A to B is 1, then back to A made 2). It may have been a mile if you were to measure it, but really we just ran back and forth across a stretch of about 10 yards.

      However, there was a catch - once you get to point B, you wait for a bell of some kind, then go back to point A, then wait, etc.. But there wasn't actually any waiting, once you got there you turned around and by then the bell would ring. Then, after you had gone back and forth however many times, you go to the "next level." Now, the bell sounds are closer together, and therefore you have to speed up. If you didn't make it across before the bell sounded, you had one more screw up and then you were out. So now that I think about it, the running portion of the test wasn't so much a fitness test as it was a competition.

      Hah, "new technology weight machine"? We just call them scales.
    • popfrogs, on 07/05/2008, -0/+2I graduated HS in 1992, and we had tests similar to this in P.E. class. Every single one of us, minus maybe 3 fatties, ran the mile in less than 7 minutes after doing 100 push ups and at least 50 sit ups in a limited time.

      Anyone who ran a slower than 7 minute mile got to do it twice. This happened just about every month. I wish more schools had high standards like this. It sure was an ass whipping but I'm glad we had to do it.
  • TexasMd91, on 07/05/2008, -1/+6I also live in Texas, hence the name... and no one took the test serious but a few at my school too...
  • TusharBoy, on 07/05/2008, -1/+5I'm also from Texas, and no one at my school took it serious either. There was absolutely no incentive to do well. We were specifically told that if we failed, there would be no consequence. Why get yourself physically exhausted if it doesn't matter?

    I passed by the way, I owned everything except the run. I barely did the run in time. I can't run for my life.
  • jmoh, on 07/05/2008, -1/+4Doing 18 pushups is hard. I'm a senior, and I know last year I was able to do at max 15. But if you work at it like I did, you can easily reach 50 in no time.
  • Barackalypse, on 07/05/2008, -0/+4Never trust the results of a test where the participants have zero incentive to perform well. Also, last I checked the goal of public education wasn't to ensure physical fitness. Given our poor scores in traditional school subjects like reading, math, and science, I'd say we have much bigger things to worry about than the level of physical fitness the kids possess.
  • unpolloloco, on 07/05/2008, -0/+1I want to know the requirements of these tests. I had a test like that in middle school - I could hit all of the requirements without a problem except for the pullups - couldn't do one to save my life, no matter what I did. I wonder how many of these kids could pass 5/6 tests....
  • Superman7507, on 07/05/2008, -0/+1they give us an article about how 10% of us didn't pass it (i live in TX, and i took it) but yet they dont have more about how bad the rest of the education system is?

    At my school, if you passed the state mandated test at the end of the year, you don't have to take a final in that class. They said they did it for motivational reasons so students will do good on the test, and in turn, the state give the school more $$$!

    Its sad! Its not going to be that way in college, so why would they be doing it at the place that's "supposed to be preparing them for college"?
    • XorpheusX, on 07/05/2008, -0/+1Same here. Pass the TAKS, get final exam exemptions.

      Though nobody tells you until you get the exit level TAKS test in your hands that anyone with half a brain could pass by the time they get to seventh grade. I think I missed five questions total, spread across four tests.

      I don't think our state's education system is necessarily bad, but the standards in a lot of districts could definitely be a lot higher. My dad teaches at a high school in the DFW area where the valedictorian had a GPA of somewhere around 120, and a kid in his class that had a GPA of 95 or so wasn't in the top 10%. That's certainly an extreme, but on the opposite end of that, I know that at my school, I and many others get away with turning in late work without penalty, getting teachers to drop grades, etc.

      So it varies. Some districts are amazing. Some are average. Some are crap.
  • ElForko, on 07/05/2008, -1/+1I was a senior in '07 and I am in shape and most of the people I hung out with were in shape so this means nothing to me. There were a lot of fat people, though, so I don't doubt the results that much. I was the exception and not the rule.
    • einstevo, on 07/05/2008, -0/+1congratulations. would you like a medal?
  • 9bpm9, on 07/05/2008, -0/+3I doubt it. I went to high school in Missouri, which is apparently a fat state too, and most people weren't fat in any way, and this was a school with 2,500 people.
  • yersoocrust, on 07/05/2008, -2/+4I skipped the days we were supposed to take these tests.
  • TheInformer, on 07/05/2008, -2/+1I submitted this story over 2 days ago. Interesting.

    http://digg.com/educational/Fewer_than_10_of_Texas ...
    • xensoldier, on 07/05/2008, -1/+0AH yes the test. I just graduated myself (woo senior '08).. I remember we had to take that mile run test twice on the 2nd and 3rd last week of school ( The Academy of Irving :3). We had to run it in what 14 minutes, I've got an athletic body (no I'm not a fat slob) and I managed to do it in 10:10. I find it humorous that nothing would happen if you failed to run in it in the minimum time, you would just be deemed "unfit". Wooptido big deal. XD Hell we didn't have to do anything aside from run XD . Heck it wasn't until this year that we had to do it.
      Anyways, I live here in Irving ,Texas and pretty much it has come to the point where you don't even have to take PE to graduate it seems -_-. There are so god damn many "substitute" courses that it bewilders me how irresponsible these school systems are. How the god damn hell can BCIS and computer maintenance count as substitute course for PE!? Seriously I found out a few days ago that my girlfriend didn't even take PE at all, what total BS is that! Though this is probably the reality all around this nation . They need to reinstate that PE must actually be taken at least one semester, no substitute crap. Hell we are suppose to be taking 3 credits of PE, really shows that that is being reinforced~.
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