The Physical Fitness Assessment Initiative (PFAI) is a program designed to gather physical fitness data from Texas students for analysis to determine if there is any correlation between student academic achievement, attendance, obesity, disciplinary problems and school meal programs.
Why PFAI Was Created
The Texas Education Code (TEC) mandates that the Texas Education Agency complete the following objectives:
Annually assess the physical fitness of students enrolled in grades 3 through 12.
Adopt an assessment instrument to be used by school districts.
Compile the results of the physical fitness assessment captured by school districts and provide summary results to the Texas Education Agency (TEA).
Analyze the results received for each school district to determine whether a relationship exists between student academic achievement, attendance, obesity, disciplinary problems and school meal programs.
Provide a report to the legislature no later than Sept. 1, 2008.
Due to changes in federal and state ethnicity codes, schools will not be required to submit ethnicity data during the 2009-2010 school year.
If your school wishes to import student ethnicity data into FITNESSGRAM, it will be filtered out as a part of the state data collection, but will still be useable at the local level.
Fitness assessment data will be due by 5:00 pm on Friday, May 14, 2010. The PFAI/TEASE system will open on March 19, 2010. Submission of campus and district data can occur any time between March 19th and May 14th, 2010.
Schools should assign the data submitter now and ensure that s/he is equipped with a user name and password for TEASE. Directions to applying for TEASE access are available at http://www.tea.state.tx.us./index4.aspx?id=3972.
A TETN/videoconference on fitness assessment data submission was provided on March 3rd, 2010 from 8:30-11:30 am. To order a DVD copy of the TETN, contact Ronnie Dennis at 210-370-5632.
Data on the relationship between student fitness levels and academic performance, attendance, and discipline are available for your use at www.ourkidshealth.org.
