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Performance Evaluation Tests

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Performance is an assessment of how well a task is executed and the success

of a training program is largely dependent upon satisfying the performance
aims associated with it.

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Howcanperformancebemonitored?

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Testing and measurement are the means of collecting information upon which
subsequent performance evaluations and decisions are made.

Whatistheevaluationprocess?

Fitness Development

The whole measurement/evaluation process is a six stage, cyclic affair,

involving:

Fitness Testing
Nutrition

Planning
Programs
Psychology
Sports
Sport Development

The
The
The
The
The
The

selection of characteristics to be measured

selection of a suitable method of measuring
collection of that data
analysis of the collected data
making of decisions
implementation of those decisions

All of the above stages should be completed with the athlete - especially the
analysis of the collected data and making decision of an appropriate way
forward.

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Fitness Plan
Assessment Tests

SITESEARCHFACILITY

Whataretherequirementsofatest?
In constructing tests it is important to make sure that they really measure the
factors required to be tested, and are thus objective rather than subjective. In
doing so all tests should therefore be specific (designed to assess an athlete's
fitness for the activity in question), valid (the degree to which the test actually
measures what it claims to measure), reliable (capable of consistent
repetition) and objective (produce a consistent result irrespective of the
tester).
In conducting tests the following points should be considered:

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Each test should measure ONE factor only

The test should not require any technical competence on the part of the
athlete (unless it is being used to assess technique)
Care should be taken to make sure that the athlete understands exactly
what is required of him/her, what is being measured and why
The test procedure should be strictly standardised in terms of
administration, organisation and environmental conditions

Whatarethebenefitsoftesting?
The results from tests can be used to:

predict future performance

indicate weaknesses
measure improvement
enable the coach to assess the success of his training program
place the athlete in appropriate training group
motivate the athlete

Tests additionally break up and add variety to the training program. They can
be used to satisfy the athlete's competitive urge out of season. Maximal tests
demand maximum effort of the athlete so they are useful at times as a
training unit in their own right.
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Whatfactorsmayinfluencetestresults?
The following factors may have an impact on the results of a test (test
reliability):

The ambient temperature, noise level and humidity

The amount of sleep the athlete had prior to testing
The athlete's emotional state
Medication the athlete may be taking
The time of day
The athlete's caffeine intake
The time since the athlete's last meal
The test environment - surface (track, grass, road, gym)
The athlete's prior test knowledge/experience
Accuracy of measurements (times, distances etc.)
Is the athlete actually applying maximum effort in maximal tests
Inappropriate warm up
People present
The personality, knowledge and skill of the tester
Athlete's clothing/shoes
Surface on which the test is conducted
Environmental conditions - wind, rain, etc

Whyrecordinformation?
For the coach and athlete it is important to monitor the program of work, to
maintain progression in terms of the volume of work and its intensity. Both
coach and athlete must keep their own training records. A training diary can
give an enormous amount of information about what has happened in the past
and how training has gone in the past. When planning future training cycles,
information of this kind is invaluable.

Whatshouldberecorded?
The information to be recorded falls into two broad categories: The day-to-day information from training
State of the athlete (health, composure)
Physiological data (body weight, resting heart rate, etc.)
The training unit (speed, speed endurance, strength, technique)
The training load (the number of miles, the number of sets and
repetitions, the number of attempts)
The training intensity (kilograms, percentage of maximum,
percentage of VO2)
The prevailing conditions (wet, windy, hot etc.)
The response to training (the assignments completed, the
resultant heart rate recovery, felt tired, etc.)
Information that measures status. This can take the form of a test. If
the test is repeated throughout the program, it can then be used as a
measure of progress within the training discipline. Examples of such
tests are:
Time trials - speed, speed endurance, endurance
Muscular endurance - chins, push ups, dips
Strength maximum - single repetitions, maximum repetitions
Explosive strength - power bounding, vertical jump, overhead shot
putt
Mobility - objective measurements of the range of movement
Event specific

Competitionevaluation
Following competition, it is important that the coach and athlete get together
as soon as possible in order to evaluate the athlete's performance. Elements
to be considered are pre race preparations, focus and performance plans and
achievement of these plans. An evaluation form is useful to help the athlete
and coach conduct this review.

Howcanwemaketestsmorereliableandvalid?

Use competent and well trained testers

Equipment should be standardised and calibrated regularly
Each test should measure only one factor
Care should be taken to make sure the athlete understands exactly
what is required of them
The test procedure should be standardised in terms of administration,
organisation and environmental conditions
The test should be designed so that it can easily be repeated by another
trained tester
The test should be fully documented so that it can be administered in
exactly the same way the next time it is conducted

MaximalTests
Maximal means the athlete works at maximum effort or tested to exhaustion.
Examples of maximal anaerobic tests are the 30 metre acceleration test and
the Wingate ANaerobic 30 cycle test. Examples of maximal aerobic tests are
the Multistage Fitness Test or Bleep test and the Cooper VO2 max test
Disadvantages of maximal tests are:
difficulty in ensuring the subject is exerting maximum effort
possible dangers of over exertion and injury
dependent on the athlete's level of arousal

SubmaximalTests
Submaximal means the athlete works below maximum effort. In sub maximal
tests, extrapolation is used to estimate maximum capacity. Examples of
submaximal aerobic test are the PWC-170 test and the Queens College Step
Test.
Disadvantages of submaximal tests are:
depend on extrapolation being made to unknown maximum
small measurement inaccuracies can result in large discrepancies as a
result of the extrapolation

Normativedata
Where normative data (average test results) is available, it is included on the
appropriate evaluation test pages which are identified below.

SportPerformanceTests
The Sport Specific Performance Tests page provides guidance on possible
tests to evaluate the athlete's fitness components for a variety of sports.

EvaluationTestGroups
The performance evaluation tests are grouped as follows:

Aerobic Endurance - VO2 max (25)

Anaerobic Endurance (2)
Agility (9)
Balance (2)
Body Composition (6)
Coordination (1)
Event Time Predictors (4)
Fitness General (4)

Flexibility (9)
Psychology (4)
Reaction Time (1)
Strength - Core (1)
Strength - Elastic (5)
Strength - General (18)
Speed and Power (18)
Talent Evaluation (1)
Tests for young athletes (2)

EvaluationTests
AerobicEndurance-VO2max

2.4km Run Test

Astrand Treadmill test - VO2 max test running on a treadmill
Astrand 6 minute Cycle test - VO2 max test on a static bike
Balke VO2 max test - suitable for endurance sports
Balke Incremental treadmill protocol test - VO2 max test on a treadmill
(male and female tests)
Bruce Incremental treadmill protocol test - VO2 max test on a treadmill
(male and female tests)
Chester Step Test - VO2 max test
Cooper VO2 max test - suitable for endurance sports
Conconi Test
Critical Swim Speed - measure of a swimmers aerobic capacity
Home Step Test - a step test you can conduct at home
Harvard Step Test - measure of cardiovascular fitness
Multistage Fitness Test or Bleep test - VO2 max test for endurance
sports
Queens College Step Test - VO2 max test
Rockport Fitness walking test - VO2 max test
Tecumseh Step Test - measure of cardiovascular fitness
Treadmill VO2 max test - VO2 max test
VO2 max from non-exercise data - VO2 max test
VO2 max from a one mile jog
VO2 max from a race result (time for a distance)
VO2 max Step Test
Wheelchair VO2 max Test
Yo-Yo Endurance Test
Yo-Yo Intermittent Endurance Test
Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test

AnaerobicEndurance
Cunningham and Faulkner Test
RAST - Running-based Anaerobic Sprint Test

Agility
All these agility tests are suitable for sports with multidirectional movement

505 Agility Test

Hexagonal Obstacle Agility Test
Illinois agility run test
'L' Test
Lateral Change of Direction test
Quick Feet test
Shuttle Run Test
'T' Drill test
Zig-Zag Test

Balance
Standing Stork Test - balance test
Standing Stork Test Blind - balance test

BodyComposition

Body Fat Percentage

Body Mass Index (BMI)
Muscle Fibre Test - Dr F. Hatfield
Yuhasz skinfold test
Body Fat Percentage using Girth Measurements
Waist to Hip Ratio test

Coordination
Hand Eye coordination

EventTimePredictors
400 metre predictor test - predicts an athlete's potential 400 metre time
1500 metre predictor test - predict an athlete's potential 1500 metre
time
5km predictor test - predict an athlete's potential 5km time
Kosmin predictor test - predict an athlete's potential 800 metre and
1500 metre time

FitnessGeneral
Medicine Ball Javelin Quadrathlon - fitness and strength test for Javelin
throwers
McCloy Physical Fitness test
Quadrathon - an excellent all round test - originally devised for throwers
Wilf Paish Rugby Football Tests - suitable for Rugby, USA Football

Flexibility

Hip Flexion Test

Modified Sit and Reach Test - lower back and hamstring test
Sit and Reach test - lower back and hamstring test
Static Flexibility Test - Ankle
Static Flexibility Test - Hip & Trunk
Static Flexibility Test - Shoulder & Wrist
Static Flexibility Test - Trunk & Neck
Static Flexibility Test - Shoulder
Trunk Flexion Test

Psychology

SCAT - Sport Competition Anxiety Test

TEOSQ - Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire
Illinois Self Evaluation Questionnaire
Profile of Mood States (POMS) Questionnaire

ReactionTime
Ruler Drop Test

Strength-Core
Core muscle strength and stability test - Abdominals and lower back

Strength-Elastic
Jumps Decathlon - suitable for jumpers
Leg Elastic Strength test - suitable for jumpers
Sargent Jump Test or Vertical Jump Test - suitable for basketball,
volleyball, football, rugby etc.
Sprint Bound Index - suitable for sprinters
Standing Long Jump test - suitable for sprinters, rugby, football,
hockey, fencing etc.

Strength-General

Abdominal Curl Conditioning Test (NCF)

Biceps Curl Test
Burpee Test
Canadian Crunch Test
Chin up Test - Arm and shoulder muscular endurance
Dynamic Knee Extension Test - Knee extensor muscles
Flexed Arm-Hang Test
Sit Ups test - Abdominal curl strength
Curl-Up test - Abdominal muscle endurance
Grip Strength - Grip strength with a Dynamometer
Overhead Press Test - Elbow extensors and superior shoulder girdle
muscles
Press Up test - Upper body muscle endurance
Strength test - upper body - Bench Press
Strength test - lower body - Leg Press
Strength test - hamstrings - Leg Curl

 Strength test - quadriceps - Leg Extension

Squats Test
Wall Squat Test - Quadriceps strength endurance

SpeedandPower

10 stride test for 100m and 200m athletes

30 metre acceleration test for 100m and 200m athletes
30 metre Sprint Fatigue - Power Maintenance Test
35 metre Sprint Speed Test
40 metre multiple Sprint Test
40 yard Sprint Speed Test- predict an athlete's 400 metre time
60 metre speed test for 100m and 200m athletes
150 metre Endurance test for 100m athletes
250 metre Endurance test for 200m athletes
300 yard shuttle test - suitable for football, rugby, hockey, basketball,
squash
400 metre Drop off test for 100m and 200m athletes
400 metre Control tests for 400m athletes
Concept 2 Rowing Step test - Monitor anaerobic threshold
Flying 30 metre speed test for 100m and 200m athletes
LAS (Lactic vs Speed ) test for 400m athletes
Margaria Kalamen Power Test
PWC-170 test- predicts power output at a heart rate of 170 bpm
Wingate ANaerobic 30 cycle test- Cycling based Anaerobic test

TalentEvaluation
Evaluation of male and female physical talent

Testsforyoungathletes
The following test can be used with young athletes
Athletics 365 - aimed at 8-15 year olds, but can be adapted for younger
athletes

FreeCalculators
To support many of the above evaluation tests the Sports Coach Excel
calculator page contains a number of free Microsoft Excel spreadsheets
that you can download and use on your computer.

RelatedReferences
The following references provide additional information on this topic:
NOAKES, T. D. (1988) Implications of exercise testing for prediction of
athletic performance: a contemporary perspective. Medicine and Science
in Sports and Exercise, 20 (4), p. 319-330
HOPKINS, W. G. (2004) How to interpret changes in an athletic
performance test. Sportscience, 8, p. 1-7
HOFFMAN, J. R. et al. (1996) Relationship between athletic performance
tests and playing time in elite college basketball players. The Journal of
Strength & Conditioning Research, 10 (2), p. 67-71

PageReference
If you quote information from this page in your work then the reference for
this page is:
MACKENZIE, B. (1997) Performance Evaluation Tests [WWW] Available
from: https://www.brianmac.co.uk/eval.htm [Accessed 28/10/2016]

RelatedPages
The following Sports Coach pages provide additional information on this topic:
Performance Evaluation - Articles
Performance Evaluation - Literature Reviews

AdditionalSourcesofInformation
For further information on this topic see the following:
BEASHEL, P. and TAYLOR, J. (1996) Advanced Studies in Physical
Education and Sport. UK: Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd.
BEASHEL, P. and TAYLOR, J. (1997) The World of Sport Examined. UK:
Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd.
BIZLEY, K. (1994) Examining Physical Education. Oxford; Heinemann
Educational Publishers
DAVIS, B. et al. (2000) Physical Education and the Study of Sport. UK:
Harcourt Publishers Ltd.
GALLIGAN, F. et al. (2000) Advanced PE for Edexcel. Oxford;
Heinemann Educational Publishers
McARDLE, W. et al. (2000) Essentials of Exercise Physiology. 2nd ed.
Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins
CHU, D. (1996) Explosive Power and Strength. USA; Human Kinetics
Publishers, Inc.

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