Assessment
“Studies suggest that many
physical educators fail to assess
their students’ motor behavior
properly. The major reason for
this is lack of training.”
Guidelines for Assessment
• Why do you want to assess your
students/patients?
• What variables do you plan to assess?
• Which tests purport to assess the
variables that you have identified?
• How will you prepare for collecting the
data?
Guidelines for Assessment
• Do you have the statistical skills to
interpret the assessment data?
• Will you be conducting an informal or a
formal assessment?
• How, and with whom, will you share the
assessment results?
Why Assess?
• Screening
– To identify needs
– To determine if an individual requires
further testing, additional programming, or
instruction
• Program content
– Plan the content of a particular program
Why Assess?
• Student progress
– Are individuals meeting the course or
program objectives?
• Program evaluation
– Is the program meeting the objectives for
enhanced skill development?
• Classification
– Placement of individuals by group
What Variables to Assess
• Instructional units that are tied to
specific objectives indicate which
variables are assessed
• Assess variables tied to program
objectives
Selecting the Ideal Test
• Validity
– Test measures what it claims to measure
• Content validity ~ the instrument contains tasks
that measure specific content of interest
– A subjective measure
Selecting the Ideal Test
• Reliability
– Consistency of test scores
• Individual scores do not vary significantly from
day to day, assuming there has been no
additional instruction
– Measured statistically
Selecting the Ideal Test
• Objectivity
– Interrater reliability
– Degree of accuracy to which a test is
scored
– Determined statistically
• Statistical determination is performed by
computing a correlation coefficient for
two sets of scores
Selecting the Ideal Test
• Correlation coefficient
– A set of ratings compiled by one scorer is
correlated with the scores obtained by a second
scorer
• A correlation coefficient of 0.80 –1.00 is acceptable
• Caution: norms are population specific
– Height of American children should not be
compared with the norms in height for Japanese
children
Selecting the Ideal Test
Test feasibility
– Which test can be administered in the least
amount of time?
– Must you administer the test to a single
student, or can it be administered to
groups?
– Do you have the training and expertise to
administer the test?
Selecting the Ideal Test
Test feasibility
– Do you have all of the supplies and
equipment needed for test administration?
– Do you have the training and expertise to
interpret the test results?
Preparing Students for Assessment
• To reduce test anxiety
– Test environment can be controlled
– Meet the participant’s physical needs
• Procedure for restroom breaks
– Meet the participant’s psychological needs
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Introduce the test with conversation
Reveal what will be done during the test
Avoid the word “test”
Allow participants to explore the equipment
Instructor Preparation and
Data Collection
• Do you have the necessary equipment
to administer the assessment?
• Can you deliver the standardized
directions to students taking the
assessment?
• Do you have an appropriate score sheet
with extra pencils on hand?
Instructor Preparation and
Data Collection
• Are you adequately prepared to
administer the assessment without
constantly referring to the test manual?
• If assessment requires observation, do
you possess valid observational skills?
– Are you able to recognize deviations from
the norm?
– From what point will you observe?
Instructor Preparation and
Data Collection
• You must think through and even pilot
(test run) your assessment procedures
prior to administering the test to a target
population
Interpreting the
Assessment Data
Need to have an understanding of
measures of central tendency and
measures of variability
Measures of central tendency
– Mean – arithmetic average
– Median – 50th percentile
– Mode – score that appears most frequently
Interpreting the
Assessment Data
Measures of variability
– Describes the spread of scores
A measure of variability
– Standard deviation – describes the degree
to which the scores vary about the mean of
the distribution
– δ = sigma (standard deviation symbol)
Interpreting Assessment Data
Formal vs. Informal Assessment
When assessment is performed in an
informal manner, the student is not
generally aware that an observation is
being made
Playbased assessment
– Children are involved in free play within an
approved area, but in the presence of an
adult facilitator
Formal vs. Informal Assessment
Playbased assessment
– Facilitator plays along and models the
child's play behavior
– Later, the facilitator will coax the child into
exhibiting new movements
– During this time, an evaluation is being
conducted
– Videotaping is recommended
Types of Assessment Instruments
Norm-referenced
– Quantitative evaluations designed to compare a
person’s skill and abilities with those of others
from similar age, gender, and socioeconomic
categories
– Also called psychometric instruments
– Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development
III, Gesell Developmental Schedules, BruininksOseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, Test of Gross
Motor Development-2
Types of Assessment Instruments
Norm-referenced
– Advantages
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Easy to administer
Minimal training required to administer the test
Scoring procedures are simple
Compare results to others in peer group
– Disadvantages
• Provides only “average” results
Types of Assessment Instruments
Criterion-referenced
– These instruments evaluate the “quality” of
a person’s performance
– Can determine placement of an individual
along the developmental continuum
– Compares an individual to him/herself over
time
– Common testing procedures for motor
developmentalists
Types of Assessment Instruments
Criterion-referenced
– Advantages
• Provides more insight into programming
considerations
• Provides a true developmental assessment
– Disadvantages
• More complicated to administer than normreferenced tests
Types of Assessment Instruments
Product-oriented assessment
– The examiner is more interested in
performance outcomes than the technique
used to perform the task
– Measures quantitative outcomes
• How far
• How many
– Pass-fail system
– Score for each successful completion of a
task
Product- vs. Process-Oriented
Assessment
Process-oriented assessment
– Requires a component approach
• “the identification of developmental
characteristics of body parts within a task”
– Disadvantages
• A comprehensive understanding of
developmental steps and a prolonged period of
study and practice of the techniques is required
– Conducting this type of assessment within
a large school population is questionable
Product- vs. Process-Oriented
Assessment
Component approach assessments not
feasible to use with large classes
– Takes too much time
– Appropriate for small classes
Total body approach assessments more
feasible with large classes
Selected Norm-Referenced (NR)
Instruments
Bayley Scales of Infant Motor subtests
and Toddler
– Body control
Development III (2005)
– Large muscle
– Subtests to identify
deficits in young
children (1-42 months)
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Cognitive
Motor
Language
Social-Emotional
Adaptive Behavior
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coordination
Fine motor
manipulatory skills
Dynamic movement
Dynamic praxis
Postural imitation
Stereognosis
Selected Norm-Referenced (NR)
Instruments
Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor
Proficiency (BOTMP)
– Test battery of 8 subtests with 46 items
– Short and long form
– Provides a comprehensive index of motor
proficiency and individual measures of fine
and gross motor skills in children 4.5 to
14.5 years of age
Selected Norm-Referenced (NR)
Instruments
Basic Motor Ability Test – Revised
– Designed to assess selected large and
small muscle control responses
– Can be used with children 4 to 12 years of
age
– Some test items: bead stringing, target
throwing, back and hamstring stretch,
static balance, basketball throw, agility run
Selected Norm-Referenced (NR)
Instruments
Denver II
– A major revision and restandardization of
the original Denver Development
Screening Test
– Designed to screen children between birth
and 6 years of age for developmental
delays in four areas
Selected Norm-Referenced (NR)
Instruments
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Areas
1.
2.
3.
4.
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DENVER II
Personal-social
Fine motor adaptive
Language
Gross motor
Test sheet is unique
Scoring: pass-fail, refusal,
no opportunity to observe
grading
Training aids available
Selected Norm-Referenced (NR)
Instruments
4 AREAS of child’s development tested in Denver II
1. Personal-social
– Drinking from a cup, removing one’s own garments,
washing and drying hands
2. Fine motor adaptive
– Ability to perform tasks as passing a block from hand to
hand, stacking blocks
3. Language
– Ability to imitate sounds, name body parts, define words
4. Gross motor
– Ability to sit, walk, jump, throw
Selected Process-Oriented
Assessment Instruments
SIGMA
– The Ohio State University Scale of Intra-Gross
Motor Assessment
– A criterion-referenced tool designed to evaluate
motor behavior of normal preschool, elementary,
and young mentally retarded school children
– 11 fundamental motor skills in four developmental
levels assessed
– A Performance Based Curriculum (PBC) is
included with the assessment test
Selected Process-Oriented
Assessment Instruments
Developmental Sequence of Motor Skills
Inventory
– This analysis is based upon the configuration of
the total body during performance of a task
– Three to five stages of behavior are observed
– Level of development is then classified for
hopping, skipping, galloping, throwing, catching,
punting, striking, kicking, long jumping
Selected Process-Oriented
Assessment Instruments
Fundamental Motor Pattern Assessment
Instrument
– Used to assess developmental changes
over time for fundamental patterns
• Walking, running, jumping, throwing overhand,
catching, kicking
– Performer is scored in one of three stages
of development
• Initial stage, elementary stage, mature stage
Selected Process-Oriented
Assessment Instruments
Test of Gross Motor Development – 2
– Used to identify children between 3.0 and
10.11 years of age who may be
significantly behind in gross motor skill
development and eligible for special
education services
– Locomotor and object-control skills are
evaluated
– Normative data stratified by age,
geography, gender, race, residence
Assessing the Disabled
• Although individuals with selected
special needs perform behind their
“normal” peers, both groups follow
similar patterns of development
• Most assessment tests are geared to
the “normal” population
• Comparisons using normative data are
inappropriate
Assessing the Disabled
Brigance Diagnostic Inventory of Early
Development (BDIED)
– Criterion-referenced test with norms
– Assesses behaviors that are divided into 11
domains
– Can assess development from birth to 6
years of age
– Easy to administer and interpret
Assessing the Disabled
Brigance Diagnostic Inventory of Early Development:
Assessment Categories
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Preambulatory motor skills
and behaviors
Gross motor skills and
behaviors
Fine motor skills and
behaviors
Self-help skills
Prespeech behaviors
Speech and language skills
7.
General knowledge
and comprehension
8. Readiness skills
9. Basic reading skills
10. Writing skills
11. Math skills
Assessing the Disabled
I CAN
– The goal of this assessment is to improve the
quality of physical education instruction for all
students
– Target population: “children whose overall
developmental growth is slower than the average,
as well as . . children with specific learning
disabilities, social, or emotional adjustment
difficulties, and or economic or language
disadvantages”
Assessing the Disabled
I CAN
– Criterion-referenced
– Easy to administer
– Modules include
• Preprimary motor and play skills
• Primary skills
• Sport, leisure, and recreation skills
Aids in Assessing Motor Skills
• Checklists or reminder sheets that list
key descriptive terms for each
developmental level to jog the
examiner’s memory
• Videotaping individual performance
Assessing Physical Fitness
Physical-fitness test batteries
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FITNESSGRAM/ACTIVITYGRAM
President’s Challenge
National Youth Physical Fitness Program
National Children and Youth Fitness Studies I and
II
– Functional Fitness Assessment for Adults Over 60
Years
– Senior Fitness Test
– Canada Standard Test of Fitness