2.3.1. Test of Gross Motor Development, Second Edition (TGMD-2)

The TGMD-2 is a norm-referenced measure designed to test the gross motor functioning of children 3 to 10 years old. The test consists of 12 motor skills and is divided into two sub-tests, namely locomotor (run, hop, gallop, leap, horizontal jump, and slide) and OCS (overhand throwing, catching, underhand rolling, dribbling, kicking, and striking a stationary ball) [30]. Only the OCS-subtest was used for this study to determine proficiency in six OCS of children aged 6 and 9 years in their grade 1 (2010) and grade 4 (2013) school years. Each of these skills includes several behavioral components presented as performance criteria and in general presents a mature pattern of the skill. If participants performed an action correctly, they received a score of one; if they performed it incorrectly, they received a zero. Each participant received two attempts to perform each skill after a visual demonstration of each skill was performed by the tester. The scores of the two attempts were added together. Standard scores for the sub-items were calculated from the raw scores and then combined to obtain a gross total motor score from which a motor quotient was calculated. The Gross Motor Quotient is the best measure of an individual’s overall gross motor ability [30]. Age, gender, and a raw score of each child were used to calculate the percentile rank as well as the standard score. A child’s performance in comparison with their chronological age group can be obtained by using percentile scales. The descriptive proficiency ratings for subtest standard scores in the TGMD–2 manual is indicated as very superior (17–20), superior (15–16), above average (13–14), average (8–12), below average (6–7), poor (4–5), and very poor (1–3). The TGMD-2 has a validity of r = 0.89 [30]. This test battery was substituted during the 2016 measurements with the Canadian Agility Movement Skill Assessment (CAMSA) which includes most of the FMSs of the TGMD-2, (specifically throwing, catching, and kicking) but is also considered to be a more appropriate test to use among 12-year-olds as it provides a more accurate representation of the application of OCS in a more dynamic environment. The CAMSA assessment represents a developmentally appropriate setting that simulates a sport-related setting and considers the interaction of the individual and the environment, which makes it possible to draw associations between OCS competency during earlier childhood and application of these skills during later childhood.