Assessing the Fidelity of Administering the Körperkoordinationstest für Kinder (KTK) in a U.S. Physical Education Setting: A Pilot Study
Keywords:
Postural balance, Children, Limb movements, Assessment, Motor coordinationAbstract
Child injuries resulting from falls have risen in the United States (U.S.) over the past 10 years. Many falls are associated with motor coordination (MC) deficiencies. The Körperkoordinationstest für Kinder (KTK) is a standardized, norm-referenced MC measure used abroad, but is needed in the U.S. if delivered with fidelity. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine if physical educators could set-up, administer, and score the KTK subtests with 5th grade students using a Fidelity Checklist. Methods: This cross-sectional pilot study involved four physical educators from two elementary schools (School 1 N=32; School 2 N=28) who were trained on setting-up, administering, and scoring the four subtests (walking backwards on a balance beam (WB), lateral jump (LJ), sideways step (SS), and single leg hop (SH)) with fidelity. Results: Fidelity Checklist results showed the physical educators scored 100% on set-up, 95% on administration, and 96% on subtest scoring. The four subtests’ internal consistencies were WB: 0.88; SH: 0.93; SS: 0.96; LJ: 0.94 which were comparable to the international studies. Conclusion: Findings suggest that the KTK assessment may be more suitable for use in larger U.S.-based studies to evaluate MC deficiencies in children, with the broader aim of informing fall prevention efforts.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Dr. Deborah J. Rhea, Dr Daryl Campbell-Pierre, Dr. Yan Zhang, Dr. G. Kate Webb
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