For the lucky ones of you who do not know what the beep test is, it is a multi-stage fitness test that tests cardiovascular fitness by forcing people to run in 20m increments each time they hear a beep. The beeps get progressively closer together as the participants get more exhausted. As for the aim-- that I'm not really sure. Other than used for torture purposes? Perhaps for the amusement of teachers?
At our school, every student must complete the beep test at the start of every term. This is compulsory (unless you have a medical certificate). I am not joking when I say they made a girl on crutches do it as she didn't have a note saying she couldn't. A friend of mine had an asthma attack, and they told her she wasn't allowed to drop out as she hadn't reached the minimum requirement. Having an asthma attack then caused her to have a panic attack, and the teacher still ignored her distress and told her to keep going. The teacher running it last term told me I must run on my swollen ankle, and then told me I couldn't have an icepack as they are "too expensive". I have seen far too many people run on injuries because they know that the teachers will accuse them of faking or tell them to run anyway.
I can see the merits of such a test and the way they encourage physical activity, but surely there are better ways that don't stress people out or cause them to further injure themselves. I mean playing a sport or a game is a much more fun way of exercising that causes much less stress.
To make the beep test worst, we are graded on our performance, and if we do not achieve above a minimum requirement it goes down on our report as a fail, which impacts the subjects we are able to choose in the following year.
I do not believe that the beep test should be compulsory or graded.