It's not quite putting weights on report cards, but the Department of Education is going to try to prevent childhood obesity by issuing physical evaluations. The Daily News reports:
The evaluations, known as fitnessgrams, are based on an exam that will have kids stretching, jogging, counting situps and being weighed.
Instead of grades, students will receive a two-page printout with bar charts that show if they are in the "healthy fitness zone," and note any progress they have made on each exercise since the last evaluation.
Bar charts. Not only will kids (and their parents) learn about their fitness, they'll learn how to read bar charts (calling Edward Tufte)! About 400 elementary schools, which is about half of the elementary schools in the city, plus 20 middle and 20 high schools will be getting the fitnessgrams next year...no word on whether McDonald's will be giving them free Happy Meals if they do well.
