Ms. DeJesus Union H.S. Physical Education Department

Your Curl Up Assessment will be on 11/15/10 with a follow up on 5/15/11 to see if there was any improvement.

Curl Up Assessment

The Curl-Up Assessment is used to assess strength and endurance of the abdominal muscles. These muscles are important in promoting good posture and correct pelvic alignment and is important in the maintenance of lower back health. The modified sit-up involves the hip flexor muscles as well as the abdominal muscles.

Overview of test instructions

Curl Up Test Assessment of Abdominal Strength and Endurance

Test Objective- Complete as many curl ups as possible up to a maximum of 75 at a specific pace.

Test Instructions-

1.      Select a partner.

2.      Partner A will perform curl ups first and partner B will count making sure that they complete the curl ups correctly.

3.      Partners will switch turns when the other one has finished.

You must lie in the supine position; Knees bent at 140 degrees, feet flat on the floor, legs slightly apart. Hands will be placed on the thighs and will slide up until the knees to perform a curl up.

You will be listening to a tape stating when to go up and when to go down. Make sure you do not go ahead or fall behind the tape.

Scoring- your score is the number of curl ups you performed. They are to be counted when students head returns to the mat. Counting will be done after the 2^nd incorrect curl up. One incorrect curl up is permitted.

Assessment Trial #2

What Is Your Goal?

Number of Curl Ups performed and category you fall under: ________

Boys                                                                            Girls

0-23 Below Average/ Needs Improvement    0-17 Below Average/ Needs Improvement
24-44  Average/ Healthy                                 18-35  Average/ Healthy
45-75 Above Average/Fit                               36-75  Above Average/ Fit

Post Assessment Questions:

1.      Did you meet your goal?

2.      What will you do to improve and meet your goal in and outside of class?

3.      Did your score improve, decrease, or remained the same from the last assessment?

Evaluation Criteria

Boys                                                                            Girls

0-23 Below Average/ Needs Improvement    0-17 Below Average/ Needs Improvement
24-44 Average/ Healthy                                  18-35  Average/ Healthy
45-75 Above Average/Fit                               36-75  Above Average/ Fit

Preparation for assessment

Student lies supine on mat with knees bent at 90° and feet on floor. Hands are placed on students thighs.

Set metronome at 40 beats per minute. At the first beep, the subject slowly lifts the shoulder blades off the mat by flexing spine until finger tips reach their knees. At the next beep, the subject slowly returns shoulder blades to mat by flattening lower back. Student repeats curl-up in time with the metronome (20 curl-ups per minute).

One repetition is counted each time shoulder blades touches the floor. Subject performs as many curl-ups as possible without stopping, for that minute. The test is terminated if the cadence is broken. 

*This will be done once a week in preparation for the assessment so that students will know what to do and feel comfortable while they are doing it.

Test score improvements in and outside of the class.

Performing fitness activities in class will help the students stay fit and perform better on the class.

What students can do outside the class is sit-ups, curl-ups, and/or crunches at home and when they reach the top, hold for 3 seconds and then slowly come down counting 3 seconds. Planks are also great to do because you are using your abdominals to hold yourself up.

Test Validity

Few results are available on the consistency and accuracy of the curl-up. Reliability is higher for college students than for children but the values are acceptable for this type of assessment. Determination of validity has been hampered by the lack of an established criterion measure. Anatomical analysis and electromyographical documentation provide the primary support for the use of the curl-up test to determine abdominal strength and endurance.

Control for reliability

Students are asked to keep score of how many curl ups was done correctly. Using the hand to knees approach was more reliable and did not allow the students to cheat as easily as the hands at side approach. Students find this approach harder and actually feel their abdominals at work as opposed to the hands at side technique.

How did the class perform?

	Males (10)		Females (13)
Fit	7		10
Healthy	2		2
Needs Improvement	1		1
Average	53		47.69
Range	60		65
Standard Deviation	19.30458		16.93805
Average ( whole class)		50
Range (whole class)		17.7815
Standard Deviation (whole class)		65