PACER test 15 m vs 20 m: what's the difference?
The 15 m PACER is the FitnessGram PACER run on a 15 m course, for gyms that cannot fit 20 m. Each lap is shorter and there are more laps in each level, so 15 m lap counts are not 20 m lap counts. FitnessGram's conversion chart turns a 15 m score into a 20 m score before it is entered: 20 laps on 15 m count as 15, 40 as 31, 60 as 46 and 100 as 77 laps on 20 m.
Same test, shorter course
The PACER is a 20 m shuttle run paced by beeps that speed up. FitnessGram, the school fitness programme of The Cooper Institute, also provides a 15 m version for gyms where 20 m is not available. The aim is the same: run back and forth between two lines and reach each line before the beep.
What changes on a 15 m course
The lap is shorter. One lap is 15 m, not 20 m. The same number of laps covers a quarter less ground.
There are more laps. A runner covers the same ground in a third more laps, and makes a third more turns.
The levels hold more laps. FitnessGram’s chart puts 9 laps of 15 m in level 1, where the 20 m test has 7, and 15 laps of 15 m in level 10.
Why the counts cannot be compared
The standards that schools use, the Healthy Fitness Zone minimums by age and sex, are read on 20 m laps. A student who runs 40 laps on 15 m has not run 40 laps on 20 m. Reading that number against the zone would overstate the result.
FitnessGram handles this with a conversion chart. The chart says to use it “to convert scores on the 15 M PACER to a 20 M score to enter in the FITNESSGRAM software”. A school that tests on 15 m converts each score first, then reads the 20 m score.
The conversion chart
These rows come from FitnessGram’s PACER Conversion Chart. The chart gives a value for every lap; this table shows every tenth one.
| Laps on 15 m | Equivalent laps on 20 m |
|---|---|
| 10 | 8 |
| 20 | 15 |
| 30 | 23 |
| 40 | 31 |
| 50 | 38 |
| 60 | 46 |
| 70 | 54 |
| 80 | 61 |
| 90 | 69 |
| 100 | 77 |
| 110 | 85 |
| 120 | 92 |
| 130 | 100 |
| 140 | 108 |
| 150 | 115 |
There is no single ratio to apply. Low scores convert at about three quarters, and the chart rounds each value, so look up the exact lap count rather than multiplying. For a score between two rows, or above 150 laps, use the full chart.
The copy read for this page is the one FitnessGram published on fitnessgram.net, archived in December 2006. If your school uses a newer FitnessGram manual or software, check that its chart gives the same values.
For the 20 m lap standards by age, see how many PACER laps should I get for my age.
Go further
Frequently asked questions
Can I compare 15 m PACER laps with the 20 m standards?
Not directly. A 15 m lap covers less ground than a 20 m lap. FitnessGram's chart is there to convert a 15 m score into a 20 m score to enter in the FitnessGram software, and the 20 m score is the one to read against the standards.
How do I convert 15 m laps to 20 m laps?
Look up the lap count in FitnessGram's PACER conversion chart. For example, 30 laps on 15 m convert to 23 on 20 m, 50 to 38 and 80 to 61. There is no single ratio: the chart gives a value for each lap.
Where is the conversion chart?
FitnessGram published it as a two-page PDF, the PACER Conversion Chart, on fitnessgram.net. The file has since been taken down there; the copy cited on this page is the one archived in December 2006. If your school uses a newer FitnessGram manual, check its chart against these values.
Sources
- FitnessGram, PACER Conversion Chart, fitnessgram.net (archived copy of 8 December 2006) — official chart converting each 15 m PACER lap count, by level, to the 20 m score to enter in the FitnessGram software; read 2026-10-19. The file is no longer on fitnessgram.net
- Top End Sports, PACER test conversion — secondary source, shows the FitnessGram chart as an image; checked 2026-10-16