Age- and Sex-Specific Percentile Curves for the Test of Gross Motor Development From 7,263 Children Aged 3–5 Years From 13 Countries
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Motor competence (MC) is a key component of child development, often assessed through skillfulness in fundamental motor skills. The process-oriented Test of Gross Motor Development second and third editions have been extensively used to measure children’s MC. However, there is a lack of international percentile curves available against which children’s scores can be compared across different cultural contexts. The aim of this study was to present percentile curves for the second and third versions of the Test of Gross Motor Development in 3- to 5-year-old children, based on a cross-cultural and income diverse population. This study is based on secondary analysis of pooled data of 7,263 children who completed the second or the third edition of the Test of Gross Motor Development in 13 countries. The generalized additive models for location, scale, and shape model, with the Box–Cox power exponential adjusted method, was used to construct percentile curves within each 3-month age category, according to sex. The percentile curves provide a foundational framework for interpreting MC internationally. The findings advocate for periodic updates to the percentile curves developed to ensure that global standards for MC remain relevant and actionable.
Authors: Clarice Martins, Elizabeth K. Webster, Vicente Romo-Perez, Sedigheh Salami, Luis Lemos, Michael Duncan, Farid Bardid, Amanda E. Staiano, Anthony Okely, Antonis Kambas, Arja Sääkslahti, Caterina Pesce, Cristina Honrubia-Montesinos, Daniele Magistro, Donna Niemistö, Fabio Carlevaro, Francesca Magno, Glauber Nobre, Ívina Aires, Isaac Estevan, Jacqueline Paez Herrera, Johana Soto-Sanchez, Jorge Mota, José Ribeiro, Juan H. Almonacid, Ke Ning, Leah E. Robinson, Maria Karageorgopoulou, Maria João Lagoa, Matthieu Lenoir, Minghui Quan, Nadia C. Valentini, Parvaneh S. Dehkordi, Pedro Gil-Madrona, Penny Cross, Rachel A. Jones, Rafael Henrique, Rafael Tassitano, Si-Tong Chen, Valentina Biino, Yucui Diao, Paulo R. Bandeira, Lisa M. Barnett
Institutions: Universidade do Porto, University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Universidade de Vigo, Alzahra University, Universidade Lusófona do Porto, Universidade Lusófona, Coventry University, University of Strathclyde, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, University of Wollongong, Democritus University of Thrace, University of Jyväskylä, Michigan State University, University of Castilla-La Mancha, University of Southampton, University of Turin, Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Ceará, Universidade de Pernambuco, Universitat de València, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Universidad Mayor, Shaanxi Normal University, University of Michigan, Ghent University, Shanghai University of Sport, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Victoria University, University of Verona, Soochow University, Universidade Regional do Cariri, Deakin University
Language: English
Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7163564016