Early Validation Evidence of the Canadian Practitioner-Based Assessment of Physical Literacy in Secondary Physical Education

• Published in: The Physical educator Vol. 76; no. 3; pp. 634 - 660
• Main Author: Lodewyk, Ken R
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Urbana Sagamore-Venture 01.01.2019; Sagamore Publishing; Sagamore Publishing LLC
• Subjects: Analysis; Canada; Correlation; Criterion Referenced Tests; Curricula; Daily Living Skills; Education; Educational Assessment; Educational Research; Feedback (Response); Foreign Countries; Formative Evaluation; Grade 10; Grade 11; Grade 12; Guidelines; High School Students; High schools; Literacy; Passports; Physical Activities; Physical Education; Physical Education Teachers; Physical Fitness; Psychological Testing; Psychological tests; Rating Scales; Researchers; Scores; Secondary School Students; Students; Teacher Attitudes; Teachers; Test Validity; Usability; Validity; Canada
• ISSN: 2160-1682; 0031-8981; 2160-1682
• DOI: 10.18666/TPE-2019-V76-I3-8850

The assessment of physical literacy is vital and challenging for researchers and practitioners. Passport for Life is a Canadian global practitioner-based, formative, criterion-referenced assessment of physical literacy that is recorded in an online program. Students complete eight assessments divided across four broad categories of physical literacy (active participation, fitness, movement, and living skills). This study is an endeavor to uncover initial validation and feasibility evidence for the proposed use of Passport for Life with Grade 10-12 physical education students from various regions of Canada. The Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing were used as the theoretical framework. The results with 1,003 secondary school students provide score validity evidence on the content, format, and administrative guidelines of the items and scales; response process evidence about how the program was valued and how the assessments were implemented; internal structure evidence about how participants performed and the extent of associations between items within each scale; predictive evidence as to how scales related temporally to a second measurement of each assessment scale; and concurrent evidence about how the scales related to those of other components. While drawing attention to certain limitations and adding some recommendations, this article shows that the results generally support the Grade 10-12 Passport for Life relative to its intended use.