CPFT Administration

[Stonewall]

This may sound silly coming from a long-time CP officer, but sometimes I'll second guess myself so I want to make sure I'm not missing something.

TEST ADMINISTRATION

Events. The CPFT consists of four events:

• The Sit and Reach tests flexibility of the lower back and hamstrings.
• Curl Ups test abdominal strength and endurance.
• Push Ups test upper body strength and endurance.
• The Mile Run or Shuttle Run tests heart and lung endurance.

Cadets may choose to test in either or both events. If they fail the mile, they may then attempt the shuttle run instead, or vice versa. In
inclement weather, commanders may stipulate that only the shuttle run be administered.

Test Period. Test administrators will manage the testing process expeditiously so that each cadet completes
the CPFT in about one hour. Cadets must do all four events in the same test period.

The only part of the CPFT that has an alternate exercise is the Run / Shuttle Run, correct?  There's no hidden rule that says if a cadet fails the curl-ups, they can do the sit & reach instead, is there?  They are two separate parts of the CPFT.

[NC Hokie]

There's nothing hidden about the rule at all; passing the CPFT requires a "run plus two out of three" (this is in the "Scoring" paragraph on the same page your quote comes from). In your example, if the cadet passes one run and the other two non-run exercises, they have successfully completed the CPFT.

[Stonewall]

Scoring. For cadets assigned to Physical Fitness Category I, the rule is "run plus two out of three." These cadets must
meet or surpass the standards for their age and gender in the mile run or shuttle run, plus two of the three remaining
events to fulfill promotion requirements. Cadets assigned to Physical Fitness Category II, III, or IV are waived from
one or more CPFT events due to a medical condition. Testing officers score each waived event as a "pass." For
example, a cadet waived from the push-up need only pass the mile run or shuttle run, plus the curl-up or sit-andreach
(the push-up being scored as a "pass"). Cadets do not need to declare in advance which events they hope to
pass.

Okay, gotcha.  So if they pass the run, sit & reach, and curl-ups, but not the push-ups, they still get a passing score.

I should have just scrolled down the page.  I questioned myself because last night cadets caught me off guard by saying "a cadet can do the sit & reach if they failed the push-ups".  For some reason, I had it in my head that the cadets had to take all four parts of the PT test and only the shuttle run and the 1 mile run could be swapped.

Unfortunately the cadet in question only passed the run and the sit & reach.  Zero push-ups?!?!?!?!  Looks like we got some work to do.  No problem, we'll make it work.

[NC Hokie]

I should have just scrolled down the page.  I questioned myself because last night cadets caught me off guard by saying "a cadet can do the sit & reach if they failed the push-ups".  For some reason, I had it in my head that the cadets had to take all four parts of the PT test and only the shuttle run and the 1 mile run could be swapped.

Your cadets were probably referring to the practical effect of the "run plus two out of three" rule. Something like, "That's okay, you can still pass the sit & reach."

Or your predecessor was doing it wrong.

[Pylon]

CAPR 52-16, Section 5-8 ("Protocols for the Cadet Physical Fitness Test"), Paragraph (c) states: "Cadets must attempt all events during each test period, unless assigned to Physical Fitness Category II, III or IV."

"Must attempt" are the key words here.  If a cadet passes the run and the first two of the other events, he or she cannot say "Oh, I'm going to skip the last event because I don't need it to pass."  Sorry, pal.  Regulation says if you want your CPFT to be valid, you must attempt all of the events.

In fact, I'd be inclined to say as a CPFT evaluator that a cadet who normally does, say, 20 pushups and upon realizing he doesn't need the push-ups to pass pretends to be unable to do any pushups, did not actually attempt all of the events and I'd invalidate his score unless the cadet followed-up with a good faith attempt.

[Stonewall]

I helped out at a PT test a couple months ago, but it's been years since I looked at the regs.  I thought something didn't sound right.  Not again...

Cadet Staff:

We are doing the CPFT wrong. Everyone has to complete all 4 parts of the PT test. The only option is whether you run the mile or do the shuttle run. Even though you only have to pass 2 of the 3 other events (push-ups, sit & reach, curl-ups), you still have to do them.

Technically, no one completed the CPFT last night. Let's do it right next time.

Message sent.