Age-and sex-specific percentile curves for the Test of Gross Motor Development from 7,263 children aged 3-5 years from 13 countries

Clarice Martins; Elizabeth K. Webster; Vicente Romo-Perez; Sedigheh Salami; Luis Lemos; Michael Duncan; Farid Bardid; Amanda E. Staiano; Anthony Okely; Antonis Kambas; Arja Sääkslahti; Caterina Pesce; Cristina Honrubia-Montesinos; Daniele Magistro; Donna Niemistö; Fabio Carlevaro; Francesca Magno; Glauber Nobre; Ívina Aires; Isaac Estevan; Jacqueline Paez Herrera; Johana Soto-Sanchez; Jorge Mota; José Ribeiro; Juan H. Almonacid; Ke Ning; Leah E. Robinson; Maria Karageorgopoulou; Maria João Lagoa; Matthieu Lenoir; Minghui Quan; Nadia C. Valentini; Parvaneh S. Dehkordi; Pedro Gil-Madrona; Penny Cross; Rachel A. Jones; Rafael Henrique; Rafael Tassitano; Si-Tong Chen; Valentina Biino; Yucui Diao; Paulo R. Bandeira; Lisa M. Barnett

doi:10.1123/jmld.2025-0151

Age-and sex-specific percentile curves for the Test of Gross Motor Development from 7,263 children aged 3-5 years from 13 countries

Clarice Martins
, Elizabeth K. Webster
, Vicente Romo-Perez
, Sedigheh Salami
, Luis Lemos
, Michael Duncan
, Farid Bardid
, Amanda E. Staiano
, Anthony Okely
, Antonis Kambas
, Arja Sääkslahti
, Caterina Pesce
, Cristina Honrubia-Montesinos
, Daniele Magistro
, Donna Niemistö
, Fabio Carlevaro
, Francesca Magno
, Glauber Nobre
, Ívina Aires
, Isaac Estevan

Jacqueline Paez Herrera, Johana Soto-Sanchez, Jorge Mota, José Ribeiro, Juan H. Almonacid, Ke Ning, Leah E. Robinson, Maria Karageorgopoulou, Maria João Lagoa, Matthieu Lenoir, Minghui Quan, Nadia C. Valentini, Parvaneh S. Dehkordi, Pedro Gil-Madrona, Penny Cross, Rachel A. Jones, Rafael Henrique, Rafael Tassitano, Si-Tong Chen, Valentina Biino, Yucui Diao, Paulo R. Bandeira, Lisa M. Barnett

Centre for Healthcare and Community Transformation

University of Porto
University of Tennessee
University of Vigo
Alzahra University
Lusófona University of Porto
University of Strathclyde
Pennington Biomedical Research Center
University of Wollongong
Democritus University of Thrace
University of Jyväskylä
Michigan State University
University of Castilla-La Mancha
University of Southampton
Universita di Torino
Universidade Federal do Ceará
University of Pernambuco
Universidad de Valencia
Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaiso
Universidad Mayor
Shaanxi Normal University
University of Michigan
Instituto Universitário da Maia
Ghent University
Shanghai University of Sport
Federal University of Rio Grande do Sol
Universidade Federal de Pernambuco
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Victoria University
University of Verona
Soochow University
Universidade Regional do Cariri
Deakin University

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Abstract

Motor competence (MC) is a key component of child development, often assessed through skillfulness in fundamental motor skills (FMS). The process-oriented Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD) 2nd and 3rd editions have been extensively used to measure children´s MC. However, there is a lack of international percentile curves available against which children’s scores can be compared across different cultural contexts. The aim of this study was to present percentile curves for the 2nd and 3rd versions of the TGMD in 3- to 5-year-old children, based on a cross-cultural and income diverse population. This study is based on secondary analysis of pooled data of 7263 children who completed the 2nd or the 3rd edition of the TGMD in 13 countries. The Generalized Additive Models for Location, Scale and Shape (GAMLSS) model, with the Box-Cox Power Exponential (BCPE) adjusted method was used to construct percentile curves within each 3-month age category, according to sex. The percentile curves provide a foundational framework for interpreting MC internationally. The findings advocate for periodic updates to the percentile curves developed to ensure global standards for MC remain relevant and actionable.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1-11
Number of pages	11
Journal	Journal of Motor Learning and Development
Volume	14
Issue number	1
Early online date	4 Jun 2026
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1123/jmld.2025-0151
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 4 Jun 2026

Bibliographical note

Copyright © and Moral Rights are retained by the author(s) and/ or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This item cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder(s). The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.

This document is the accepted manuscript, incorporating any revisions agreed during the peer-review process. Some differences between the published version and this

Keywords

motor competence
early childhood
percentile values
fundamental motor skills

Access to Document

10.1123/jmld.2025-0151

Duncan2026AAMAccepted author manuscript, 1.51 MB

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Martins, C., Webster, E. K., Romo-Perez, V., Salami, S., Lemos, L., Duncan, M., Bardid, F., Staiano, A. E., Okely, A., Kambas, A., Sääkslahti, A., Pesce, C., Honrubia-Montesinos, C., Magistro, D., Niemistö, D., Carlevaro, F., Magno, F., Nobre, G., Aires, Í., ... Barnett, L. M. (2026). Age-and sex-specific percentile curves for the Test of Gross Motor Development from 7,263 children aged 3-5 years from 13 countries. Journal of Motor Learning and Development, 14(1), 1-11. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1123/jmld.2025-0151

Martins, C, Webster, EK, Romo-Perez, V, Salami, S, Lemos, L, Duncan, M, Bardid, F, Staiano, AE, Okely, A, Kambas, A, Sääkslahti, A, Pesce, C, Honrubia-Montesinos, C, Magistro, D, Niemistö, D, Carlevaro, F, Magno, F, Nobre, G, Aires, Í, Estevan, I, Herrera, JP, Soto-Sanchez, J, Mota, J, Ribeiro, J, Almonacid, JH, Ning, K, Robinson, LE, Karageorgopoulou, M, Lagoa, MJ, Lenoir, M, Quan, M, Valentini, NC, Dehkordi, PS, Gil-Madrona, P, Cross, P, Jones, RA, Henrique, R, Tassitano, R, Chen, S-T, Biino, V, Diao, Y, Bandeira, PR & Barnett, LM 2026, 'Age-and sex-specific percentile curves for the Test of Gross Motor Development from 7,263 children aged 3-5 years from 13 countries', Journal of Motor Learning and Development, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1123/jmld.2025-0151

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abstract = "Motor competence (MC) is a key component of child development, often assessed through skillfulness in fundamental motor skills (FMS). The process-oriented Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD) 2nd and 3rd editions have been extensively used to measure children´s MC. However, there is a lack of international percentile curves available against which children{\textquoteright}s scores can be compared across different cultural contexts. The aim of this study was to present percentile curves for the 2nd and 3rd versions of the TGMD in 3- to 5-year-old children, based on a cross-cultural and income diverse population. This study is based on secondary analysis of pooled data of 7263 children who completed the 2nd or the 3rd edition of the TGMD in 13 countries. The Generalized Additive Models for Location, Scale and Shape (GAMLSS) model, with the Box-Cox Power Exponential (BCPE) adjusted method was used to construct percentile curves within each 3-month age category, according to sex. The percentile curves provide a foundational framework for interpreting MC internationally. The findings advocate for periodic updates to the percentile curves developed to ensure global standards for MC remain relevant and actionable. ",

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author = "Clarice Martins and Webster, \{Elizabeth K.\} and Vicente Romo-Perez and Sedigheh Salami and Luis Lemos and Michael Duncan and Farid Bardid and Staiano, \{Amanda E.\} and Anthony Okely and Antonis Kambas and Arja S{\"a}{\"a}kslahti and Caterina Pesce and Cristina Honrubia-Montesinos and Daniele Magistro and Donna Niemist{\"o} and Fabio Carlevaro and Francesca Magno and Glauber Nobre and {\'I}vina Aires and Isaac Estevan and Herrera, \{Jacqueline Paez\} and Johana Soto-Sanchez and Jorge Mota and Jos{\'e} Ribeiro and Almonacid, \{Juan H.\} and Ke Ning and Robinson, \{Leah E.\} and Maria Karageorgopoulou and Lagoa, \{Maria Jo{\~a}o\} and Matthieu Lenoir and Minghui Quan and Valentini, \{Nadia C.\} and Dehkordi, \{Parvaneh S.\} and Pedro Gil-Madrona and Penny Cross and Jones, \{Rachel A.\} and Rafael Henrique and Rafael Tassitano and Si-Tong Chen and Valentina Biino and Yucui Diao and Bandeira, \{Paulo R.\} and Barnett, \{Lisa M.\}",

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AU - Salami, Sedigheh

AU - Lemos, Luis

AU - Duncan, Michael

AU - Bardid, Farid

AU - Staiano, Amanda E.

AU - Okely, Anthony

AU - Kambas, Antonis

AU - Sääkslahti, Arja

AU - Pesce, Caterina

AU - Honrubia-Montesinos, Cristina

AU - Magistro, Daniele

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AU - Herrera, Jacqueline Paez

AU - Soto-Sanchez, Johana

AU - Mota, Jorge

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AU - Almonacid, Juan H.

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AU - Robinson, Leah E.

AU - Karageorgopoulou, Maria

AU - Lagoa, Maria João

AU - Lenoir, Matthieu

AU - Quan, Minghui

AU - Valentini, Nadia C.

AU - Dehkordi, Parvaneh S.

AU - Gil-Madrona, Pedro

AU - Cross, Penny

AU - Jones, Rachel A.

AU - Henrique, Rafael

AU - Tassitano, Rafael

AU - Chen, Si-Tong

AU - Biino, Valentina

AU - Diao, Yucui

AU - Bandeira, Paulo R.

AU - Barnett, Lisa M.

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Age-and sex-specific percentile curves for the Test of Gross Motor Development from 7,263 children aged 3-5 years from 13 countries

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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