Normative References for the Test of Gross Motor Development, Third Edition, in Brazilian Children: A Comparison With American Standards

The assessment of fundamental motor skills is crucial for understanding motor development trajectories in childhood, identifying potential motor delays, and informing interventions. Objectives: This study aims to present normative reference curves for fundamental locomotor and ball skills proficiency from the Test of Gross Motor Development, Third Edition for Brazilian children (TGMD-3-BR). Additionally, the normative references for Brazilian children were compared with those from the original American sample. Methods: A total of 1,338 children (51.1% girls), aged 3–10.9 years from five regions of Brazil, participated in the study. TGMD-3-BR was employed to assess children’s proficiency in locomotor and ball skills. Normative references were developed based on age and sex using generalized additive models for location scale and shape. Results: Centile curve age trajectories varied based on locomotor skills and ball skills, as well as sex. Overall, the TGMD-3-BR normative references from the American normative sample indicated higher cutoff points (centiles) for motor proficiency compared with those for Brazilian children. Conclusion: The normative references provide a comprehensive framework for assessing fundamental motor skills proficiency using the TGMD-3-BR. This includes both quantitative metrics (e.g., percentile rank, scaled score, confidence interval, and gross motor index) and qualitative assessments (e.g., impaired or delayed, borderline impaired or delayed, below average, average, above average, superior, gifted, or very advanced) based on a Brazilian normative sample.