Students in Bend-La Pine this year will be tested on running, jumping and throwing just like they’re tested on reading, writing and arithmetic.

For the first time, the district will begin assessing state physical education content standards that indicate what students should be able to do as they progress through school.

After two years of development, the P.E. standards were to become part of the state’s Certificate of Initial Mastery (CIM) program, but legislation last year to reduce the CIM requirements eliminated P.E. from the list. Still, the detailed standards written by the state will give school districts more focus in teaching students physical education.

”It will give (P.E.) the credibility it deserves, and the importance that you can be brilliant, but if you’re not healthy there’s a problem,” said Carolyn Ervin, the physical education facilitator for the Bend-La Pine School District.

The new standards are modeled after several programs, including the seven standards developed by the National Association of Sports and Physical Education.

Those state standards indicate what the students should be able to do and know by the time they graduate.

Third graders, for instance, should be able to demonstrate a ”mature form” of basic locomotor skills such as running, galloping, hopping and skipping.

A third-grader should be able to throw, catch and kick. A fifth-grader should be able to dribble a ball between his or her feet, dribble a ball with each hand, throw, catch and volley a ball with a partner. An eighth-grader should be able to demonstrate folk, square, social or creative dance.

And a sophomore should be able to, among other things, write a personal fitness and activity program for themselves.

Those standards, and more, will be assessed this year by local school districts.

”Are they mandated? I don’t believe so at this point, but we will go ahead and try to meet them now,” Ervin said. Ervin said teachers are encouraged by the new standards, but are concerned the large classes might make it difficult to pull off.

”I have 56 students in my class, is it feasible to use these standards to rate every child? We’ll find out,” she said. ”They’re more than willing to do it.”

Margaret Bates, the state education department’s P.E. specialist, has said state’s focus was on the standards, not alleviating class-size problems. The change would move physical education into the ”Tier 2” level of CIM, joining second language, technology and the arts curricula as subjects with state standards but without uniform state testing.

Districts may choose the format in which students demonstrate they meet the district performance standard.

P.E. assessments could include written tests, fitness logs maintained during classroom instruction, performance assessments or a videotape of a student participating in an activity. And while one of the goals of the standards is to get all the schools in the state on the same page, some educators have said that might be difficult.

Some schools don’t have swimming pools, some have bigger budgets to buy more and better equipment, some have more gym space than others, while some don’t even have gyms at all.

Along with changes in how physical education is viewed in the eyes of state and local educators, it’s beginning to take on a new look for students too.

For instance, the fitness center at Madison Junior High School in Naperville, Ill., rivals an adult health club, with heart monitors, treadmills, stair-steppers, and even a rock-climbing wall.

The idea, says the center’s physical education coordinator, Phil Lawler, is to promote a ”paradigm shift” regarding gym class: Instead of teaching sports skills, the center focuses on health, wellness and lifestyle.

”So many are pointing the finger at poor nutrition, but a bigger factor is kids are just not physically active,” says Lawler, who directs the PE4Life Institute, a national training center. ”Physical education for every kid in school could be the solution to get control of health care.”

Bend-La Pine last year received a $499,000 federal grant for physical education equipment and training that’s helping local gym classes mirror that health club feel found in Naperville.

Schools here also have purchased rock walls, heart rate monitors, pedometers, treadmills, stationary bikes, fitness testing equipment and more, said Ervin.

”The kids are so fired up saying Oh my gosh, how many steps did you do?’” Ervin said, recalling comments made by students using pedometers for the first time. ”They are very excited because the kids can look at this stuff and it’s personal. It’s all what’s happening inside them.”

With new software purchased through the grant, students will be able to input their fitness data into a computer and track it over time. Teachers will be able to track a student’s progress over the years as well.

”Students who are becoming young adults are being able to take charge of their fitness,” Ervin said.

Tracy Pinkerton, a P.E. teacher at Redmond High School, said that’s part of the challenge – getting students interested in taking charge of their fitness level.

”Ever since I started out you see kids … because of our lifestyle they are not choosing to be active,” said Pinkerton, who has taught P.E. for 18 years. ”By having the P.E. requirement, it gives kids an opportunity to exercise – because they have to.”

Oregon doesn’t require a specific amount of time for elementary and middle school students to receive physical education instruction.

The U.S. Surgeon General recommends 30 minutes a day of moderate physical activity at least 5 days a week.

The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends all children age 5 and older should participate in at least 30 minutes of enjoyable, moderate-intensity activities every day.

They also recommend children perform at least 30 minutes of vigorous physical activity at least 3-4 days each week to achieve and maintain a good level of heart and lung fitness, according to the Oregon Department of Education.

Crook County last year moved to a four-period day which more than doubled the amount of time students spent in P.E. class.

With about 86 minutes to work with, teachers in the district have said the P.E. program is more disciplined, give students more of a workout and is more focused on teaching new skills and sports.

For Pinkerton and other P.E. teachers who consider themselves on the front line in the battle against blubber, every minute counts.

”They come in with a bad attitude about exercise, saying it’s not their cup of tea, and you see them achieve stuff,” she said. ”They do more push ups than they could before or improve three or four minutes on their mile and say, Hey, this isn’t too bad.’ ”

Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service contributed to this report.

Ted Taylor can be reached at 541-383-0375 or ttaylor@bendbulletin.com.