Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 19, 2026
Author Spotlight: Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Combined with Movement Observation in Cerebral Palsy
Published on: August 9, 2024
Student Outcomes of School-Based Physical Therapy as Measured by Goal Attainment Scaling
Lisa A Chiarello1, Susan K Effgen, Lynn Jeffries
1Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Dr Chiarello); Departments of Rehabilitation Sciences (Dr Effgen) and Biostatistics (Dr Bush), University of Kentucky, Lexington; Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences, Oklahoma City (Dr Jeffries); and Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle (Dr McCoy).
Purpose:
The main purposes were to describe individualized outcomes of students receiving school-based physical therapy and determine if goal attainment differed by gross motor ability and age.
Methods:
One hundred nine physical therapists and 296 students participated. At the beginning of the school year, therapists translated students' Individualized Education Program goals into subgoals using Goal Attainment Scaling and determined students' Gross Motor Functional Classification System level. Researchers categorized goals (posture/mobility, recreation/fitness, self-care, or academics), and therapists identified students' primary goal. At the end of the school year, therapists scored the goals. Descriptive statistics and 2-way analyses of variance were conducted.
Results:
Students exceeded their expected goal level for primary goals and goals categorized as posture/mobility, recreation/fitness, and self-care and made progress on academic goals. No differences were found by gross motor ability. Younger students had higher goal attainment for primary and recreation goals.
Conclusion:
Students achieve individualized outcomes addressed by school-based physical therapy.
