The development and Rasch calibration of a scale to measure coordinative motor skills in typically developing children

The purposes of this study were to propose and calibrate an instrument based on systematic observation intended to measure coordinative motor skills in typically developing children. The instrument, called the Coordinative Motor Skills Scale (CMSS), was administered to 96 third grade children (50% females, mean age = 8.4, SD = 0.4) from primary schools in northwest Italy. Data were analyzed employing the base Rasch model for dichotomous items (Rasch, 1960/1980). The Rasch analysis showed that the measure of coordinative motor skills is unidimensional and that the instrument was correctly targeted to the level of ability of the participants. Overall, CMSS was demonstrated to be suitable for assessing coordinative motor skills in normally developing children.