Measurement and Evaluation

Written and reviewed by Rohit Singh, Computer Science & Commerce faculty at UniDrill (MCA, Osmania University · 6 years teaching). Based on NCERT Health and Physical Education Class XI, Chapter 9.

Your report card is not your marks

Your Class 10 marks card has three layers of information. The question paper that made you write was the test. The number you scored, say 78 out of 100, was the measurement. The remark "good, but weak in maths" is the evaluation. The same three steps are used on a sports field: a test of how many push ups you can do, a score of 28, and a judgement of whether that is good for your age. This chapter teaches those steps and the main fitness tests that go with them.

The sequence in one line: Test (the tool) → Measurement (the score) → Evaluation (the judgement)

Test, measurement and evaluation

The three are interrelated, interdependent and form a continuous process. No idea takes useful shape without evaluation, evaluation depends on measurement, and measurement cannot begin without a suitable test.

Evaluation may be formative (done during learning, to improve it) or summative (done at the end, to judge the result). The evaluation process links educational objectives, learning experiences and change of behaviour, in that order.

Why it matters. The measurement and evaluation programme helps teachers, students and parents in both academics and fitness. It is used for achievement, diagnosis, prescription, improvement, classification, grading, motivation and even prediction of performance.

Pause and predict: a student runs 1000 m in 5 minutes 20 seconds. Which part is the test, which the measurement and which the evaluation?

Check your answer: the 1000 m run is the test, the time of 5 minutes 20 seconds is the measurement, and the teacher's decision that this is "average" or "needs improvement" is the evaluation.

Fitness components and their tests

The chapter covers five areas, each with a matching test.

Muscular strength: three tests

Strength depends on the cross section of the muscle, the ratio of slow and fast twitch fibres, coordination between agonist and antagonist muscles, the stores of ATP and CP, and psychological factors like anger, aggression and motivation. To measure a muscle's strength you must know which exercise targets it. In a pull up, the deltoid, latissimus dorsi, trapezius and biceps produce the force, while the triceps stretch and support. A pull up therefore tests the arms, and a different exercise is needed for the legs.

Strength can be measured using body weight or equipment such as a dynamometer, tensiometer, weight plates and barbell.

The equipment is a floor mat and a stopwatch for curl ups, and a mat, metronome, beat drum, audio tape, clapping or stopwatch depending on the protocol for push ups.

Beyond the textbook. For the exam: the push up test assesses upper limb strength and endurance, and the abdominal curl assesses abdominal muscles. In reality: many fitness batteries standardise the speed of repetition with a metronome or beat so that every student works at the same pace. This is why the protocol matters: a score of 20 push ups done quickly and 20 done slowly are not the same measurement.

Muscular endurance and the 1000 m run or walk

Muscular endurance is the ability of muscles to keep performing over a period of time. It is the duration for which you can apply your muscular strength, and it depends on slow twitch fibres. The term stamina is sometimes used for it.

The 1000 metre run or walk test is the most common test. It needs a running track and a stopwatch. On the teacher's command, the students run from the starting line and cover 1000 m in the shortest possible time. Walking is allowed. The score is the recorded time in minutes and seconds, and a shorter time is better.

Flexibility: the sit and reach test

Flexibility is the range of motion around the joints. Good flexibility lets you move with less muscle tension. The sit and reach test measures the flexibility of the lower back and hamstring muscles. A sit and reach box and a mat are used.

The person sits with legs straight, soles against the box and palms facing down, one on top of the other, at the same level. They then bend forward slowly, sliding the hands along the scale without any jerk. The score is recorded in centimetres. The test compares the starting reach with the stretched reach, and the difference is rated as follows.

BMI: weight in relation to height

BMI tells you a person's level of obesity. You need two readings. Weight is taken on a weighing machine in kilograms, with the person in minimum garments. Height is taken with an anthropometer or stadiometer, with the back and head touching the wall and the person looking forward; the rod touches the highest point of the head (the vertex), and the reading is in centimetres.

$$\text{BMI} = \dfrac{\text{Weight (kg)}}{\left(\text{Height (m)}\right)^{2}}$$

The unit is $\text{kg/m}^2$. The WHO categories for adults are in the table.

Worked example: finding a student's BMI. A student weighs 60 kg and is 160 cm tall. Which category does she fall in?

The common wrong step is to put 160 straight into the formula: $60 \div 160^2 \approx 0.002$, a meaningless value. Always convert centimetres to metres first.

Worked example: an overweight case. A person weighs 80 kg and is 1.70 m tall. Then $\text{BMI} = \dfrac{80}{1.70^2} = \dfrac{80}{2.89} \approx 27.7$, which falls in 25.0 to 29.9, so the person is overweight.

BMI for children. For ages 2 to 20 years, BMI is calculated with the same formula but not judged against the adult table. It is compared with a percentile table of children of the same sex and age.

Beyond the textbook. For the exam: BMI is weight divided by height squared, and it classifies a person as underweight, normal, overweight or obese. In reality: BMI uses only weight and height, so it cannot tell muscle from fat. A muscular athlete may have a high BMI and still have low body fat. That is why BMI is used together with other measures such as the waist hip ratio.

Waist hip ratio (WHR): where the fat sits

Fat stored around the middle carries a higher health risk than fat stored around the hips. WHR shows this fat distribution.

$$\text{WHR} = \dfrac{\text{Waist circumference}}{\text{Hip circumference}}$$

Worked example: WHR. A person has a waist of 76 cm and hips of 97 cm. Then $\text{WHR} = \dfrac{76}{97} \approx 0.78$, which is within the low risk band for both men and women.

To measure it, the person stands straight and breathes out. The tape goes around the waist just above the belly button, and then around the hip at its widest point. Both are recorded in centimetres.

Pause and predict: a man has a waist of 100 cm and hips of 96 cm. Which risk level?

Check your answer: $\dfrac{100}{96} \approx 1.04$, which is above 1.0, so the risk is high. The waist is larger than the hip, which means more weight carried around the middle.

Somato types: three body builds

In the 1940s, the American psychologist William Herbert Sheldon proposed that bodies fall into three types. The names come from the three germ layers of the embryo: the endoderm (digestive tract), the mesoderm (muscle, heart and blood vessels) and the ectoderm (skin and nervous system). The physical features of each type are still used in designing workouts.

Why it matters. Knowing your type helps choose activities and design training. An ectomorph will find marathon running easier than power lifting, and a mesomorph can respond well to both cardio and resistance training.

Exam traps

60-second revision

Where this chapter connects

• Previous: Health Related Physical Fitness defines strength, endurance and flexibility, which these tests measure.
• Next: Tournaments and Competitions shows how results are organised once players have been assessed.
• Related: Understanding Health explains why healthy weight and fat distribution matter.