Assessment of swimming performance of preschool children

The purpose of this research was to establish the validity and reliability of a swimming scale designed for children, ages 2 to 6 yr. Subjects (N = 57) were tested on nine categories of tasks. These tasks were selected from the skills traditionally included within the motor domain of swimming; therefore, the scale is assumed to be valid. Intraclass correlation coefficients were used to estimate the interjudge objectivity, and within-day, and between-days reliabilities. The range of values for each were: .99 to .98, .99 to .96, and .97 to .84, respectively. As these values are acceptable, the swimming scale seems to be an appropriate instrument for assessing the performance of preschool children.