An easy-to-apply series of field test for physical education teachers in an educational setting: ALPHA test battery

Abstract

Valid and reliable measurement methods are the basic requirements that enable the measurement and evaluation process to reach education's basic goals. Usually, using laboratory-based tools and methods for measuring the physical fitness of students is not possible within school settings. Therefore, field-based tests provide crucial solutions to physical education teachers to measure both the physical fitness of school-aged students and the athletic competence of a school’s athletes. This study aims to identify the differences in physical-fitness levels between student athletes and non-athletes and determine the effectiveness of the Assessing Levels of Physical Activity (ALPHA) test battery in discrimination between these groups. Sixty-eight healthy male students (34 athletes and 34 non-athletes) participated in this study. As a major indicator of physical fitness in student athletes and non-athletes, the body mass index for assigned study groups was controlled. After a familiarization training, participants completed three test sessions in 48-hour intervals. The 20-m progressive shuttle run test for cardiorespiratory fitness, handgrip strength test and standing broad jump test for musculoskeletal fitness, and the 4 × 10-m shuttle run test for motor fitness were used to measure the fitness levels of the groups. A t-test was used to determine the differences between athletes and non-athletes, and effect sizes were calculated to assess practical importance. Additionally, a discriminant function analysis was used to determine whether the ALPHA test battery could differentiate between athletes and non-athletes. The findings indicated that student athletes presented with significantly greater levels of fitness than non-athletes. Additionally, when the effect of body mass index was eliminated, student athletes and non-athletes were classified correctly at a rate of 70.6% using these tests. Therefore, this study shows that physical education teachers can use the ALPHA test battery to monitor athletic performance and identify talented students.