Evidence-based assessment in adapted physical education on psychomotor outcomes: a meta-analysis

There is little data to show evidence-based practices in adapted physical education and whether it is working or not. There is a lack of information currently on the frequency that assessments are being done, on the disabilities that are being assessed or should be assessed with each test, and on the uses of the assessments that are being done. The aim of this paper is to assess and synthesize all evidence-based practices on psychomotor outcomes in adapted physical education using a meta-analysis. Data was sourced from computerized searches using the following databases: SPORT Discus, PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, Pub Med (Medline), Cochrane Database, Omni File Full Text Mega, ProQuest, Child Development and Adolescent Studies and ERIC. Studies must have been conducted in a physical education/physical activity setting, including children between age 3-22, describe and use assessment practices or intervention in the physical education/physical activity setting, show quantitative statistics and correlations to estimate effect and be conducted between January 1970 and February 2015. The average treatment effect for all evidence-based assessments was small (g= -0.16; SE=.04; 95% C.I.= -0.24, -0.08; p\u3c.05). Results between subgroups were not significant for any of the subgrouping variables. Overall, more studies are needed with quantitative data, over longer periods of time, to prove any effectiveness of evidence-based assessments in adapted physical education