Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC-2)

The Movement Assessment Battery for Children – Second Edition (MABC-2) is the most widely used tool in Europe for identifying mild to moderate motor impairment in children¹²³⁴. The test is norm-referenced, standardized, and designed to reliably assess children’s fine and gross motor skills. It is administered individually and provides results that can be applied for diagnosis, intervention planning, and follow-up.

Target group and purpose

• Age: 3–16 years

• Purpose: Early identification of motor difficulties, assessment of motor skill level, and planning of therapeutic interventions⁸

• Clinical utility: Time-efficient (20–40 minutes) and children usually cooperate well with the examiner¹⁰

MABC-2 is used by physiotherapists, occupational therapists, pediatricians, and researchers¹¹. No formal certification or specific training is required.

Test structure

MABC-2 is divided into three age bands with increasing task difficulty:

Age Band 1 (3:0–6:11 years)

• Manual dexterity: Coins in box, bead threading, drawing along a dotted line

• Aiming & catching: Catching a beanbag, throwing onto a mat

• Balance: One-leg stand, tiptoe walking, hopping on mats

Age Band 2 (7:0–10:11 years)

• Manual dexterity: Placing pegs, threading string, drawing along a dotted line

• Aiming & catching: Throwing a ball against a wall, throwing beanbag at target

• Balance: One-leg stance on balance board, heel-toe walking, hopping

Age Band 3 (11:0–16:11 years)

• Manual dexterity: Turning pegs, building a triangle, drawing along a dotted line

• Aiming & catching: Throwing ball against wall with one hand, throwing ball at target

• Balance: Standing on two boards, backward heel-toe walking, diagonal hopping

Scoring and interpretation

The test yields a total score and subscores for each domain. A traffic-light model is used:

• Red zone (≤ 5th percentile): Significant motor difficulties

• Amber zone (6th–15th percentile): At risk of motor difficulties

• Green zone (> 16th percentile): No motor difficulties⁹

Scores are compared against age-related normative data.

Evidence and applications

• Validity: Good concurrent validity with other pediatric motor tests¹⁵

• International use: Translated and validated in multiple countries, including Japan²², China²³, Belgium⁶, Croatia²⁴, the Netherlands¹, Brazil²⁵, Thailand²⁶

• Clinical fields: ADHD²⁸⁻³⁰, ASD³¹⁻³³, language disorders³⁴³⁵, developmental coordination disorder (DCD)³⁶⁻⁴⁰, learning difficulties⁴¹

Psychometric properties

• Intra-rater reliability: ICC = 0.88

• Inter-rater reliability: ICC = 0.96–0.99

• SEM (standard error of measurement): 1.34

• MDC (95% CI): 1.83 points

• Sensitivity/specificity: 69.69% / 52.10%

• MCID (minimal clinically important difference): 1.39 points (sensitivity 72.47%, specificity 46.18%)

These figures support MABC-2 as a robust and sensitive tool for both clinical and research use.

Clinical conclusion

MABC-2 is a recognized, standardized, and internationally adopted test for assessing motor competence in children. With strong reliability and validity, it is well suited to:

• Detect motor difficulties early

• Track development over time

• Evaluate the effects of interventions

Scoring sheet (example)

Child’s name: ___________________________Date of birth: ___________________________Test date: _____________________________Age at testing: _______ years _______ months

Part A: Manual dexterity

Task	Score (0–5)	Comments
1. Coins in box
2. Bead threading
3. Dotted line drawing
Subtotal Part A: _______

Part B: Aiming & catching

Task	Score (0–5)	Comments
1. Catching beanbag
2. Throwing onto mat
Subtotal Part B: _______

Part C: Balance

Task	Score (0–5)	Comments
1. One-leg stand
2. Tiptoe walking
3. Hopping on mats
Subtotal Part C: _______

Total score: _______

Result table (interpretation)

Percentile	Category	Recommendation
≤ 5%	Significant motor difficulties	Refer to specialist; individual follow-up
6–15%	At risk of motor difficulties	Monitor with training/interventions
> 16%	No motor difficulties	No specific follow-up required

Examiner’s signature: ______________________Date: ____________________

📌 Note: Each task is scored 0–5 according to the official MABC-2 manual. Total scores must be compared against age-corrected normative tables provided in the manual. Due to copyright restrictions, these cannot be reproduced here.

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