Movement skill assessment of typically developing preschool children: A review of seven movement skill assessment tools

The importance of movement is often overlooked because it issuch a natural part of human life. it is, however, crucial for achild’s physical, cognitive and social development. in addition,experiences support learning and development of fundamentalmovement skills. the foundations of those skills are laid in earlychildhood and essential to encourage a physically active lifestyle.fundamental movement skill performance can be examinedwith several assessment tools. the choice of a test willdepend on the context in which the assessment is planned. thisarticle compares seven assessment tools which are often referredto in european or international context. it discusses the tools’usefulness for the assessment of movement skill development ingeneral population samples. after a brief description of eachassessment tool the article focuses on contents, reliability, validityand normative data. a conclusion outline of strengths andweaknesses of all reviewed assessment tools focusing on theiruse in educational research settings is provided and stresses theimportance of regular data collection of fundamental movementskill development among preschool children.