Answer:
gemini / gemini-2.5-flash
A precise, recent nationwide percentage of U.S. children who can run a mile under seven minutes is not readily available due to significant variability by age, gender, and individual fitness levels. However, national fitness assessments, such as the Cooper Institute's FitnessGram, provide insights. For most school-aged children (ages 6-17), a 7-minute mile is considered a strong to excellent performance. Data from these assessments indicate that achieving a 7-minute mile often places a child in the top 10-25% of their peers, depending on their specific age and gender. Considering the overall trends in youth fitness, which show declining cardiorespiratory fitness, it is estimated that a relatively small percentage, likely in the range of 10-15% of all U.S. children nationwide, can run a mile under seven minutes.
openai / gpt-4o-mini
Score: 8
The answer provides a reasonable estimation and acknowledges variability based on age and gender. However, it lacks a citation or direct reference to the specific data sources, which diminishes its factual accuracy. The mention of the Cooper Institute's FitnessGram gives context, but more recent or specific data about the percentage of children achieving a sub-seven-minute mile would enhance completeness. The estimated range of 10-15% is a plausible figure, but without concrete data, it remains speculative. A more precise, cited percentage would significantly improve the response.
anthropic / claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929
Score: 6.5
The answer provides reasonable context about variability and references FitnessGram, which is appropriate. However, it contains some problematic elements: (1) The claim that a 7-minute mile places children in the 'top 10-25%' is overstated - for many age groups, especially younger children and girls, a 7-minute mile would place them well above the 90th percentile, often in the top 1-5%. (2) The final estimate of '10-15% of all U.S. children' is too high when considering the full age range 6-17 and both genders. A more accurate estimate would likely be 5-10% or lower, as younger children (6-10) rarely achieve this time. (3) The answer doesn't clarify that a 7-minute mile is an elite performance for younger ages but more achievable for high school athletes. The answer would benefit from age-specific breakdown.
xai / grok-4-fast-reasoning
Score: 8
The answer is generally accurate and provides relevant context from FitnessGram assessments, noting variability by age and gender. However, the 'top 10-25%' claim for a 7-minute mile is approximate and not uniformly precise across all ages 6-17; for younger children (e.g., 6-8 years), it may exceed the top 5%, while for teens, it could be closer to 20-30% depending on gender. The 10-15% nationwide estimate is a reasonable but unsubstantiated ballpark, as no aggregated national data exists for this exact metric. Declining fitness trends are correctly referenced, but the answer could clarify that mile run data is often from school samples, not fully representative nationwide.
Scores are 0–10. The selected AI’s score is a self-rating.
