The Presidential Fitness Test is coming back to Alaska schools, with $1.15 million behind it

The Presidential Fitness Test — the timed mile, the pull-ups and the sit-and-reach many adults remember from gym class — is coming back to Alaska schools. The state education department said Tuesday that students will take it starting in the 2027-28 school year, giving districts about a year to prepare.

The test ran in American schools from the 1950s until 2013, when it was retired and replaced with a program focused on personal health rather than athletic performance — a change that followed years of criticism that the old test discouraged and embarrassed less-athletic kids. President Donald Trump revived it by executive order in 2025, casting childhood obesity, chronic disease and sedentary lifestyles as a national security threat.

In Alaska, the testing will reach more than 130,000 students across 54 districts, run jointly by the state's education and health departments. The state has put a preliminary $1.15 million toward it, drawn from the federal Rural Health Transformation Program — the same $272 million pot Alaska received this year — to help districts buy equipment and train staff. The money is separate from the testing requirement itself.

"The Presidential Fitness Test gives schools another tool to encourage students to move more and have fun with physical activities," Health Commissioner Heidi Hedberg said.