Assessment of motor competence across the life-span: Aspects of reliability and validity of a new test battery

Abstract

In this article, the psychometric properties of a new test battery aimed at quantifying motor competence across the life span are explored. The battery was designed to be quantitative, simple to administer, applicable for large-group testing, and reliably to monitor life span motor development. A total of 638 participants between 5 and 83 years of age completed assessment of four different motor tasks (two fine and two gross motor tasks), enabling us to investigate its feasibility, internal consistency, construct validity, and test–retest reliability. Feasibility: Overall pattern of results suggest that the test battery for motor competence presented here is applicable for the age-span studied (5-83). Important consideration in this regard is that the same tasks are applied for all ages. A u-shaped curve between age and total test score indicate the adequate sensitivity of the test battery for the age range examined. Internal consistency: All individual test item scores correlated positively with the total test score with correlations ranging from .48 to .64. Correlations between scores on individual test items were moderate to high (.31-.69). The Cronbach’s alpha value for the standardized items was .79. Construct validity: Pearson correlation coefficient between total score Test of Motor Competence (TMC) and Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC) were .47 for 7- to 8-years-old children (n = 70) and .45 for 15- to 16-years-old (n = 101). Test-retest reliability: Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) between test and retest scores ranged from .75 to .94, and test–retest coefficient for the total score was .87.