Researchers develop a simple test for assessing the motor competence of preschoolers

Motor competence (MC) includes locomotive skills, object control skills, and stability skills and is considered a key indicator for monitoring health-related outcomes in children. In Japan, where 94.6% of children are enrolled in early childhood education and care (ECEC) facilities, regular MC assessment allows parents, teachers, and education policymakers to monitor the holistic development of preschool children.

Current MC assessment tools, however, are expensive, require specialized equipment, and may include up to 70 items per assessment tool that can take up to 60 minutes to complete. Unfortunately, these tests are not suitable for assessing the MC of preschoolers. Furthermore, different MC components, such as locomotor skills and object control skills, are not as clear as in adults. This calls for a simple MC evaluation tool that is suitable for children, which can assess object control as well as locomotor stability.

To this end, a team of researchers led by Dr. Keisuke Komura of Meijo University, Japan, has now developed a simple MC check for preschool kids that uses simple equipment to provide accurate and highly reliable results. The researchers named this tool Simple Motor Competence-check for Kids (SMC-Kids), and also conducted a cross-sectional study in preschool children to determine its validity. The study was published online in the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport on December 19 2024.

“SMC-Kids is a two-factor tool which includes one task for assessing locomotor skill, a 10 m shuttle run, and another for evaluating object manipulation skill, paper ball throw,” explains Dr. Komura, the primary author of this paper.

The study included 71 children aged 4–6 years who participated in the SMC-Kids test. The results of the tests were then compared with the Test of Gross Motor Development-3 (TGMD-3), a well-established MC assessment tool. Given that MC assessment results were subject to differ depending on the evaluator (inter-rater reliability) and even when the same person is evaluating at different times (intra-rater reliability), the study also looked at the inter-rater and intra-rater reliability of the data. Inter-rater reliability of SMC-Kids was evaluated by having 91 children, aged 3–6 years, perform the tasks twice. Similarly, the intra-rater reliability was assessed by having 53 children being reassessed by the same rater after an interval of 7–10 days of the first evaluation.

The researchers observed a strong association between the 10 m shuttle run of SMC-Kids and TGMD-3’s locomotor score. There was an even stronger association between the SMC paper ball throw and TGMD’s object manipulation skill test. Both sections of SMC-Kids test showed excellent inter-rater and intra-rater reliability. Elaborating further and sharing his thoughts on these findings, Dr. Komura says, “SMC-Kids is a simple MC assessment tool that was specifically designed for preschooler children. The only equipment needed for the measurements are A4 paper, cloth tape, measuring tape, and a stopwatch; paper balls can be used for playing after the tests.”

In summary, the tool demonstrated good-to-excellent reliability and significant correlations with established tools such as TGMD. Designed for quick and cost-effective assessment, SMC-Kids could be implemented nationwide for the effective measurement of locomotor and object control skills in young children. Developing such a simple and useful MC assessment tool could make it easier to monitor and understand children’s physical development, potentially contributing to the nurturing of more active children.

Here's hoping for a future where our young children are healthy and physically fit!