Does relative age influence motor test performance of fourth grade pupils?

Abstract

The aim of the current study was to explore relative age’s influence on physical and motor tests among fourth grade children (9 to 10 years) from Germany. Data from 1218 children (49% female) who had performed the German Motor Ability Test (Bös et al., 2009) were analysed. The test battery, which was comprised of physical and motor tests, included 20 m sprint, balance backwards, jumping sideways, stand and reach, push-ups, sit-ups, standing broad jump, and six-minute run. Analyses of variance only revealed statistically significant effects for height, weight, and 20 m sprint time (p < .01) among boys, with relatively older boys performing better than relatively younger boys. For the girls, the only significant difference between quartiles was for height (p < .01), with the oldest quartiles being taller than the younger quartiles. These results may have implications for statistical vs. practical significance, sampling, and how youth are evaluated in physical education classes.