effect of peer presence upon the special fitness test scores of orthopedically handicapped children

ABSTRACT

The testing environment has a significant impact on test results. The presence of others in a testing environment is predicted to have either beneficial or detrimental effects on an individual's performance. Thirty subjects were selected from Alexandria Rehabilitation Center, 15 boys and 15 girls, who had been previously diagnosed as orthopedically handicapped. Subjects were tested twice on the three special fitness test. The test items were sit and reach, flexed arm hang, and the sit-up. On one testing method the subject and the experimenter were the only individuals present in the testing environment. In another testing method the experimenter and the child performed in front of a passive audience composed of four of the child's peers and one adult. The results indicated that there was a significant difference between the special fitness test scores for boys and girls. Also, there was a significant difference between the two testing methods in favor to the presence of an audience method for the flexed arm hang, and the sit up tests. However, there was no significant difference between the two testing methods for the sit and reach test