Data Entry: Please note that the research database will be replaced by UNIverse by the end of October 2023. Please enter your data into the system https://universe-intern.unibas.ch. Thanks
Motor tests for primary school aged children: A systematic review
Journal
Journal of Sports Sciences
Volume
37
Number
10
Pages / Article-Number
1097-1112
Mesh terms
Child; Child, Preschool; Exercise Test, standards; Humans; Motor Skills; Physical Education and Training; Psychometrics; Reproducibility of Results
Abstract
Motor testing in education has gained in relevance in light of recent developments in educational systems (Köller & Baumert, 2012). The purpose of this systematic review was to identify studies using motor tests in primary school children aged 4 to 12 years and to synthetize information about the quality and application of the test instruments used. A systematic review of 910 records identified by a search of nine databases yielded 144 papers reporting motor testing in primary school age children, including 25 articles reporting on the quality of 20 test instruments. In the selected articles, tests grounded on the constructs of “motor abilities” and/or “motor skills” are the most frequent and are mostly used for monitoring purposes or for impact research. Tests based on the construct “motor competencies” have become popular only recently, being relevant for educational motor testing due to their curricular validity. The test instruments have been investigated towards their validity and reliability to different extents. However, for several test instruments factorial validity has not been established and more validation studies are needed to improve their psychometric quality especially if used in educational contexts.
