The FitnessGram program has prioritized the use of evidence-based, criterion-referenced standards to advance health-related fitness assessments in physical education. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) highlighted the importance of strength and power for youth fitness assessment and surveillance. The report specifically recommended the use of handgrip and long-jump, but a barrier to adoption was the lack of criterion-referenced standards to categorize and evaluate performance. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of a multi-faceted research initiative focused on advancing research on musculoskeletal fitness assessments in youth. The report chronicles the concepts, approaches, and considerations that shaped the plans for this large-scale research effort aimed at developing robust criterion-referenced fitness standards for these assessments.