The PACER Fitness Test, also referred to as the Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run test, is a fitness test designed to test your ability to stay on pace and stay in shape. In general, the PACER fitness test is used by young children in grades K-3, and by sports teams looking to gain an advantage and learn to pace themselves on the court or field. It is seen as being a particular effective test for younger children, because it's seen as a fun activity for them. It also helps them build up their self-esteem, because those children that finish last or are in the least shape actually finish the PACER fitness test first. It helps the kids stay in shape, too, but doesn't force them to run laps or sprint around the gym or field to do so.

What You Need for the PACER Fitness Test

To complete the PACER fitness test, all you'll need is a nonslippery surface like a gymnasium floor that's at least 20 meters long, a set of cones, some measuring tape, a PACER fitness test CD and a set of PACER fitness test score sheets to distribute to everyone that participates.

How The PACER Fitness Test Works

In order to complete the PACER fitness test, you'll need to follow a few basic steps. It's important that you follow them carefully to avoid putting anyone completing the PACER fitness test at risk:

1. Mark off a 20-meter course that allows enough room for each participant to have enough space to run. Use the set of cones to distinguish a clear path for each runner.
2. Play the participants the PACER fitness test CD to allow them to get used to it. The CD is designed to play for one-minute and to keep each runner on pace.
3. Line up the runners at the starting line and press play on the CD. Each runner should then run the full 20 meters, touch the line at the end of the 20 meters with their foot and wait for the CD to beep. When it does, they can then pace themselves and run back to the starting place. Runners then wait for the next beep before repeating the run. They continue doing this until they cannot get to the next line before the CD beeps. The beeps will start off slow, so be sure to tell them to pace themselves before trying the PACER fitness test. Once they fail to reach the other end before a beep twice, they are finished.
4. Each 20-meter run counts as one lap. As a runner runs, have a partner handy to mark down each lap that he runs. Once he fails to make the run before the beep, they are finished. Their total laps is their total score. The CD contains 21 minutes or 21 levels of this. The highest score wins the PACER fitness test.

Results of the PACER Fitness Test

Because the PACER fitness test is typically administered to children, the point of the test is not to see who's the fastest. It's to teach children that they can stay in shape by learning to pace themselves. The PACER fitness test is a great tool for getting kids to enjoy working out. It also helps them see that pacing themselves can provide a great workout. This is how the PACER fitness test is designed to work.