Department of Education officials have advised against the use of bleep tests to test fitness levels in schools.
Bleep tests involve students running between two fixed points, measuring a certain amount of metres , under a time limit. They are commonly used in both primary and secondary schools as part of current PE curriculums.
The Department issued a release yesterday on the use of standardised bleep tests in education. They were particularly critical of its use in primary schools, although they also argued that assessing the fastest or strongest pupils in secondary school was demoralising for those with lower levels of overall fitness.
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They wrote: “Evidence suggests that physical fitness testing can be counterproductive to healthy lifestyle and physical activity goals for some children, and that some physical fitness testing commonly practised in schools is questionable.”
Officials instead promoted other forms of fitness assessment, including the Sit and Reach Test, which boosts flexibility, and the Standing Broad Jump test, which are less physically exhaustive than bleep tests. They also cautioned against making students with asthma participate in bleep tests, as they could be detrimental to their overall health.
Dr Brendan O’Keefe, a lecturer in physical education, welcomed the advice brought forward by the Department. He admitted that the validity of bleep tests for testing fitness was a divisive subject amongst professionals.
He told RTE’s Morning Ireland: “This has been a highly debated topic in recent years. It’s not discouraged at post primary level, the guidance is specific to primary schools where there are no trained PE specialists.”
He said it was important that secondary school students continue to access aerobic fitness training, once the methods being used were appropriate. Brendan also agreed with the suggestion that bleep tests were demotivating for less active pupils, although they tend to have the opposite effect on athletic students.
The Department also recommended in their guidance document that PE teachers prepare safely for administering fitness tests in the classroom. They said students should be given clear instructions prior to completing tests about their use and that water should always be made available for students after strenuous exercise.
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