Rasch partial credit analysis of gross motor competence

The purpose of this study was to introduce a model for measurement of partial credit for the assessment of gross motor competence. Four different striking tasks were administered to a total of 128 children, ages 3 to 9 years, consisting of 64 boys and 64 girls. The partial scores were analyzed using the Rasch Partial Credit model. Satisfactory fit of model and data was obtained for Task 1 and Task 4. Step difficulties estimated for Tasks 1 and 4 ranged from 5.61 to 5.50. The average ability of the children was 0.09 (SD = 2.95). The first and second steps of Tasks 1 and 4 were easy for the children and the fourth step was difficult for them. The major advantage of using the Rasch Partial Credit analysis is that motor process measures can be calibrated and analyzed by a quantitative model with advanced test characteristics.