motor skill assessments

Using product-oriented assessments, there is some evidence that motor skills track through childhood (Brama, Haubenstricker, & Seefeldt, 1984; Burton & Miller, 1998; Malina, 1990). Tracking has been defined as maintaining relative rank within a defined group over a period of time so that measurements tend to follow a pattern in which initial measurements predict later levels (Malina, 1996). Studies have also shown gender differences tracking to different degrees (Branta et al., 1 984; Thomas & French, 1985), with the disparity between boys' and girls' performance in some skills widening over urne (Burton & Rogerson, 2003; Cratty, 1986; Keogh & Sugden, 1985; Thomas & French, 1985) . Understanding consistency or stability of motor skill performance across developmental time for boys and girls is important, as it can tiffany money clip determine how to intervene to improve motor skill proficiency. Despite this, there are few such longitudinal studies and even fewer that use process-oriented motor skill assessments. The purpose of this study was to: (a) examine whether gender differences exist in the mastery and nearmastery performance (MNM) of three object control and three locomotor skills at two time points, childhood and adolescence, (b) report the percentage of improvement from childhood to adolescence in children demonstrating MNM performance of these skills, (c) investigate the influence of gender on the relationship between childhood and adolescent object control proficiency, and (d) investigate the influence of gender on the tiffany jewellery between childhood and adolescent locomotor proficiency. This study was part of a larger study known as the PASS, set in New South Wales (NSW) , Australia.MethodParticipants

In 2000, the motor skill proficiency of 1 ,045 children from 18 randomly selected and stratified primary (elementary) schools in an area comprising 24,555 km- in NSW was assessed for the posttest of the Move It Groove It (MIGI) school-based physical activity intervention (van Beurden et al., 2003). Of these students, 1,021 had first and last initials noted on their motor skill assessments, and 929 records (91 .0%) were matched by full name and gender to rings class roll.

In 2006-07, the list of 929 original study participants was sent to 41 consenting high schools from the original study to identify adolescent students for follow-up as part of the PASS. One school did not consent to participate. Slightly more than half the original 928 (one student passed away prior to consent) participants (52%, n = 481/928) were located in 28 schools. Once identified, each student received a written invitation to participate, an information sheet, and a consent form. Students who returned a consent form (57%; n = 276/481) signed by themselves and their parents/ guardian were included in the PASS sample. The overall follow-up rate then was 30% of the original participant sample. The University of Sydney, the NSW Department of Education, and die local Catholic Diocese provided ethic approval for this study.