Test-Retest Reliability of Eurofit Physical Fitness Items for Children with Visual Impairments

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the test-retest reliability of physical fitness items from the European Test of Physical Fitness (Eurofit) for children with visual impairments. A sample of 21 children, ages 6-12 years, that were recruited from a special school for children with visual impairments participated. Performance on the following physical fitness items was measured on two test sessions with 4 weeks in between: sit-and-reach, standing broad jump, handgrip, sit-ups, bent-arm hang, and 20-m multistage shuttle run. The 10 × 5-m shuttle run was replaced by a 5 × 10-m shuttle run. Intraclass correlations ranged from .63 to .91, indicating moderate-to-excellent reliability. However, systematic differences between test and retest were found for the sit-and-reach, bent-arm hang, and the modified 5 × 10-m shuttle run items. The results indicate that for most items, test-retest reliability was satisfactory, but that improvements need to be made to the test protocols of the sit-and-reach, bent-arm hang, and the 5 × 10-m shuttle run items to ensure test-retest reliability.