Development of a Task-Based Bilateral Fine Motor Skill Assessment for Grade 0 Children in South Africa

Abstract

The need for an assessment for Grade 0 children, to establish their school readiness in the area of fine motor skills, resulted in the development of the Task Based Assessment (TBA). The aim of the assessment was to include task-based items based on every day activities required at school and for personal management. Aspects of fine motor skills in terms of efficiency, accuracy, motor skill and time were considered.
The development of the items and the psychometric testing for aspects validity and reliability are reported. Testing included the focus groups and pilot studies to field test the TBA and align the items with fine motor skills appropriate for Grade 0 children. Construct and convergent validity and test-retest reliability were found to be at acceptable levels. Field testing on 130 participants from different socioeconomic backgrounds was completed to assess the sensitivity to change over time.

Keywords
Assessment; Bilateral fine motor skills; Task-based; Grade 0 children;