Adolescent Girls' Preferences Pertaining to Cardiovascular Fitness Testing: A Comparison between the One-Mile Run and PACER Tests

Many adolescent girls are not participating in the recommended levels of physical activity (PA) and are at risk for unhealthy lifestyles (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2008). Helping girls understand the importance of PA and giving them positive experiences in physical education classes, including fitness testing, may help to increase girls' PA. The purpose of this study was to determine: if girls understand the purpose of cardiovascular (CV) fitness testing, which CV test they prefer, which CV test they try harder on, and their likes and dislikes concerning CV fitness testing. Results showed girls preferred the PACER test (chi(2) = 11.31, p = .001). Themes that became apparent from qualitative analysis indicate several reasons for test preference. Results also indicate there are a number of girls who prefer each CV test for a variety of reasons. Researchers recommend that girls be allowed to choose which CV test to participate in.