Author and graduation date: Jennifer Yleana BENNINGTON, May, 1998

Committee members: Patricia Patterson (Chair), Michael J. Buono, Claire Murphy

Thesis title: Norm-Referenced and Criterion-Referenced Reliability of the FITNESSGRAM Abdominal Curl-Up Test in Children

The purpose of this study was to examine the norm referenced and criterion referenced reliability of the curl-up (CU) test in 10 to 12 year old children. Eighty-four fifth and sixth grade boys and girls performed two trials of the CU test according to the Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research FITNESSGRAM manual on each of two days. Intraclass correlation coefficients (R) with 95% confidence intervals were used to examine norm-referenced reliability, and p and modified kappa (km) were used to determine criterion-referenced reliability. Test-retest reliability was also estimated for a single CU trial using the Spearman Brown formula. Reliability was R = .90 (95% confidence interval = .81 to .95) for boys and R = .85 (95% confidence interval = .75 to .91) for girls. Single-trial reliability was R = .82 (95% confidence interval = .68 to .90) and R = .74 (95% confidence interval = .58 to .85) for boys and girls, respectively. Using the criterion-referenced health standards designated in the FITNESSGRAM test manual as cutoff scores, p was .87 with km =.74 for boys and .62 for girls and p was .81. Specifically, only 20-41% of boys and 13-28% of girls passed the CU test on both days. These results suggest that the FITNESSGRAM CU test is reliable across two testing days; however, when single trial reliability was estimated, the lower limit of the 95% confidence interval was below acceptable levels. Teachers normally give the CU test on a single day; thus, the results of this study suggest that some caution should be used in interpreting scores given the slightly lower reliability. Children were consistently classified according to CR health standards. The high CR reliability was due to the majority of subjects failing the CU test across days. Observations of students suggest that many children failed due to their inability to follow the protocol rather than lower abdominal strength. Future studies are necessary to explore these issues.

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