Validity and reliability of the Persian translation of the children’s Ohio State University Scale of Intra-Gross Motor Assessment (OSU-SIGMA)

Purpose The Ohio State University Scale of Intra-Gross Motor Assessment (OSU-SIGMA) is a criterion-referenced test for assessing fundamental movement skills (FMS) among children aged 2.5–14 years. The OSU-SIGMA was developed as performance-based curriculum tool. The purpose of this study was to translate the English version of the OSU-SIGMA into Persian and assess the psychometric properties. Methods Two Persian-English speakers translated the OSU-SIGMA instrument and manual from English to Persian. Six experts in children’s motor development independently assessed the content validity (relevance of meaning and appropriateness) of the translated version. Children aged 2.5–14 years ( n = 220; 50% girls) were video recorded while performing each of the 11 the FMS. The same children participated in a two-week test–retest. Eleven trained assessors viewed the videos and their scores used to assess internal consistency, inter- and intrarater reliability, and test–retest reliability. Results The translated version was rated ‘exactly relevant’ >90% for four of the seven locomotor skills and > 80% for the remaining locomotor skills and all object control skills. Coefficients for content validity range from 0.53 (running) to 0.77 (skipping and striking), with little difference between boys and girls. Coefficients for intra- and interrater were ≥ 0.90 and for internal consistency ≥ 0.90 for all skills. The correlations for the two-week test–retest ranged from 0.74 (running) to 0.96 (stair climbing). Conclusions The Persian translation of the OSU-SIGMA was found to be reliable and valid for the assessment of FMS among Iranian children aged 2.5–13 years. The OSU-SIGMA was designed using a curriculum-based approach. The translation provides teachers in Persian countries with a pedological approach to develop age-appropriate FMS activities that can be used for programming, screening, and the prescription of children’s FMS.