Administering Various Assessments (Reliability & Validity)

There are thousands of different fitness assessments/tests that can be administered to determine fitness levels, calculate measurements and to evaluate individuals based on normative data.

Select an assessments/test/evaluation that ties into your specific career interest. (i.e. 1-mile run test, push up, bench press, squat or any other strength related tests, various balance tests, any sports skills tests, any body composition tests, any motor skills tests, any psychology/mental assessments, it could also be just a written questionnaire that is assessing things like mental or emotional status, for example an IQ test, etc.).

Based on your selection respond to the following questions: (BE SPECIFIC!)

1. What assessment (physical fitness, performance, mental, etc.) did you choose to analyze?

2. Why did you choose this specific assessment and how does it tie into your anticipated career path?

3. What equipment is necessary to administer this assessment?

4. How could you improve the equipment to ensure more accuracy (i.e. not missing any pieces, working properly, etc.)?

5. What is the purpose of this assessment? Give a brief description of why this assessment is performed and why it would be beneficial to use this assessment for collecting baseline data on an individual.

6. Are there any specific reasons that an individual should not do this assessment (e.g. someone with back problems, knee problems, other health concerns, age, etc.)?

7. What is the standard protocol for the assessment (List each of the specific steps required to follow when completing the assessment? And, where did you obtain the information for the standard protocol?

8. A. What does the term reliability mean, with regards to measurement accuracy?

B. Does this assessment have a high level of reliability? What things could have the greatest affects on the reliability of this assessment?

C. What is one of the simple methods used for assessing reliability (p. 41)?

9. A. What does the term validity mean, with regards to measurement accuracy?

B. Does this assessment have a high level of validity?

C. What things could have the greatest affects on the validity of this assessment?

10. Are there any other assessments used to measure the same information/baseline data? (For example, if you were doing a push up assessment to test upper body strength, there are many other assessments that can be used to test upper body strength as well, including the sub-max or max bench press assessment.)