The physical education curriculum in the state of South Carolina is representative of a trend towards increasing instruction in health-related fitness concepts. In 1994 the South Carolina state legislature mandated that the required physical education course in high school include one semester of lifetime fitness and one semester of personal fitness. In response to this mandate, four performance indicators were developed, based on the National Standards for Physical Education (NASPE, 1995), that describe what students should be able to do after a one-year high school required physical education course. The South Carolina Physical Education Assessment Program (SCPEAP), initiated in January 2000, was formed to provide professional development to ensure programs were consistent with the standards and to provide the State Department of Education a valid and reliable assessment of physical education programs in South Carolina. The second of four performance indicators specifically targets health-related fitness concepts by requiring that students design and develop an appropriate physical fitness program to achieve a desired level of personal fitness. In spite of the support for teaching health related fitness concepts, little is known about student learning or effective teaching processes in this area. In the context of statewide reform and assessment of physical education, the purpose of this study was to identify instructional variables that may impact student knowledge and conceptions of health-related fitness. It was also the purpose of this study to examine high school students' knowledge and conceptions of health related fitness. (Contains 8 tables.)