This year, Berkeley High School freshmen once again stood out as being particularly unfit among those in other high schools across the state, according to the California Department of Education's annual report released late November.

The 2007-08 California Physical Fitness Report stated that only 14.1 percent of the 255 Berkeley High School freshmen tested met all six fitness criteria, which include aerobic capacity, abdominal strength and flexibility, among other areas.

Berkeley High's freshmen trailed those in other Alameda County schools, where 38.5 percent of all freshmen who took the test met the criteria. Across the state, 35.6 percent of high school freshmen met the criteria set forth by the exam, which is also administered to fifth- and seventh-graders.

For Berkeley High parents, the results were alarming, prompting some to demand further investigation into the low scores.

"It's certainly cause for concern," said Mark van Krieken, president of the Berkeley High Parent Teacher and Student Association. "It's definitely something that should be brought to the attention of the school board and whoever is head of curriculum."

Some students said the poor results could be a result of students fulfilling physical education requirements through less-strenuous activities such as stage crew.

"People concentrate more on the credit aspect of it than the actual physical fitness part of it," said Gabe Hermann, a senior at Berkeley High.

However, high school administrators defended the athletic programs at the school.

"(The report is) probably not reflecting what's happening in our P.E. program," said Vernon Walton, vice principal who oversees physical education programs. "I question the accuracy of their data."

Yet this is not the first year that Berkeley High has seen low fitness test scores. Last year, the exam tested 128 Berkeley High freshmen and only 22.7 percent met the criteria. In 2005, only 8.4 percent of the freshmen tested met the criteria.

Administrators could not explain the results, with many adding that they were unsure how the test was being administered at the school.

Many Berkeley High students were not surprised that they had not heard of the government-mandated test, given the school's reputation of allowing students to bypass standardized tests such as the Standardized Testing And Reporting Program.

Vernon said that if the fitness test's results are valid, the school would have to re-evaluate its programs.

"We're always looking into how to improve the programs and if this is the case, we will keep looking," he said.

Tags: LOCAL SCHOOLS, FITNESS, PHYSICAL EDUCATION, BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT, BERKELEY HIGH SCHOOL