Abstract

This study proposes a methodology to evaluate physical condition in primary school adapted to the unique features of schoolchildren and their setting. The need to transform the evaluation process is grounded on different points of view: philosophical, psychological, pedagogical and metrological.

Through the use of investigative research techniques, the criteria of several authors regarding the content and form of evaluating physical condition were integrated, enabling an operational definition to be systematised. This, in turn, yielded the principles of the methodology and the value scales, based on percentages, which enrich the metrological aspects in the general theory of physical education.

The conditional and coordinative capacities and motor skills (basic and sport) studied in physical education programmes for these ages are thus evaluated in a single test. The personalisation of the evaluation process is achieved through two fundamental elements:

• The use of a test which each teacher can adjust to the particularities of their school and setting.
• Each schoolchild can compare their own results based on an initial diagnosis and on the evaluation of four indicators which determine their level of physical condition.

The results are assessed quantitatively and qualitatively by means of the criterion formulated by the experts, the measurements taken and the users’ level of satisfaction. For this purpose, different statistical tests were used, such as Kendall’s coefficient of concordance, Kendall’s Tau-b test, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test and the Ladov technique. They demonstrated that the application of the proposed methodology is feasible.

The main achievements include the fairness, affordability and humanism of this form of evaluating physical condition. Furthermore, the statistical processing program used offers a possible content distribution which enables insufficiencies to be acted on. The conclusions and recommendations include the feasibility of the proposal and the need to continue to investigate the aspects not addressed in depth in order to find new solutions to the problem under consideration.