Authors: Bruininks, B.D. & Bruininks, R.H.
Year of Publication: 2024 (3rd ed)
Publisher: Pearson
Type of Assessments:
Standardized
Norm-referenced
Performance-based
Cost: $1,059.30 (Print)/$830.00 (Digital)
Age: 4 years - 25 years 11 months (4:0-25:11)
Diagnoses: Children suspected of motor skill deficits or individuals with mild to extreme motor problems such as developmental coordination disorder (DCD), ADHD, intellectual disabilities, and ASD.
Setting: School-based, outpatient pediatrics, special education, community clinics, rehab centers, home health
Versatile and comprehensive measure of fine and gross motor control skills and identifier of deficits in these areas. Can be used as part of an comprehensive evaluation and planning of motor development interventions, used in making decisions about educational placement and provision of supports, and inform decisions about programs and accommodations most appropriate for individuals with physical and movement challenges.
Fine Manual Control (FMC) - assesses motor skills involved in writing & drawing that require higher degree of precision
Fine Motor Precision
Fine Motor Integration
Manual Coordination (MC) - assesses motor skills involved in reaching, grasping & manipulating objects, emphasizing speed, dexterity, & coordination of the UE
Manual Dexterity
Upper-limb Coordination
Body Coordination (BOC) - measures motor skills involved in balance & coordination of UE & LE
Bilateral Coordination
Balance
Strength & Agility (SA) - measures large muscle strength, motor speed, & motor skills involved in maintaining good body position while walking & running
Strength
Dynamic Movement
Time: 50-90 mins (25-45 mins per form) w/ additional ~10 mins to prepare testing area
Group/Individual: Individual
Subtests: 8 subtests, 4 motor area domains, 3 composite scores, & 3 supplemental scores (Skilled Manual Performance, Planning and Coordination, & Movement Fundamentals)
Each motor area domain includes two subtests.
Subtests within the Fine Manual Control and Manual Coordination domains = Fine Motor Composite
Subtests within the Body Coordination and Strength and Agility domains = Gross Motor Composite
Total Motor Composite = all 8 subtests
Instructions: Determine the desired administration option– when using the full test, administer the subtests in numerical order, starting with Subtest 1 - Fine Motor Precision, and ending with Subtest 8 - Dynamic Movement).
Establishing rapport will examine with elicit optimal performance and prepare a testing area (at least 40ft long and 12ft wide) that is relatively free from noise or other distractions.
Follow directions within the manual for the area set up, determine hand and foot preference.
Based on the desired format of administration (full, short, specific subtests), read the standardized instructions as they are stated, demonstrate if required, allow practice trials when specified, and score each trial immediately.
Administrator must adhere to the instructions and limitations to ensure standardization.
Materials:
Examiners Manual
Item picture book
Motor Response booklets
Paper folding response pages
Scoring Overlays
Manipulative set (Token pad, Tokens in box, Scissors, Target, Shuttle block, Tennis ball, Knee pad, Blocks with string, Shape cards, Pegboard kit)
User Qualifications: Examiners with backgrounds in occupational therapy, physical therapy, psychology, and developmental adaptive physical education or related fields who have completed testing and measurement training may administer, score, and interpret the assessment. Other qualified examiners can include educational diagnosticians, special educational teachers, and school or clinical psychologists. Qualifications are consistent with the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing
How to Score:
For each item during the test, record the raw result on the record form based on the item-specific scoring rules within the manual (e.g. 1 point for each correct peg placed within the time limit)
Within each of the 8 subtest, add the raw scores of all items to get a subtest raw score
Raw scores will be converted to scaled scores based on the age-based norms table within the manual.
To determine the composite scores within the 4 motor domains, sum the scaled scores of the appropriate subtest (e.g. for Fine Motor Composite score, sum the scaled scores from the Fine Manual Control and Manual Coordination domains; for the Gross Motor Composite score, sum the scaled scores from the Body Coordination and Strength & Agility domains).
Percentile ranks and descriptive categories (e.g. Below Average) will be determined when the summed scores are compared to the conversion table for the composite standard score.
To determine the total motor composite, sum the scaled scores for all 8 subtests and use the conversion table to find the associated standard score
Based on the determined scores, age-equivalents and growth scale values can also be determined by the conversion chart
Reliability:
Internal Consistency - Excellent
Composite (.9-.97)/ Subtest (.8-.95)
Test-Retest - Good-Excellent
Composite (.8-.9)/ Subtest (.7-.9)
Interrater - Excellent - Excellent (.95)
Validity:
Content Validity - High
Convergent Validity - High (with BOT-2 and Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC-2)
Construct Validity - High
Strengths:
BOT-3 Brief - used for initial screening, program evaluation research, etc
Standardized
Flexible administration options - full test, select domains, select subtests, or select items
Assessment can be adjusted into short testing sessions based on examiner’s needs (no longer than 7 days apart)
Engaging with game-like tasks
Includes optional demonstration videos
Supplemental scores provide more clinically-useful info
Digital options available for scoring - save time, less errors, less money
Weaknesses:
Expensive
Time-consuming
Only assesses motor functioning (does not address other contextual areas)
Only based on US norms
Bruininks, B. (2025, May 14). Understanding the flexible administration options of BOT-3. Pearson Clinical. https://www.pearsonclinical.ca/en/blog-webinars/blog/2025/05/understanding-the-flexible-administration-options-of-bot-3.html
Bruininks, B., & Bruininks, R. (2024). BOT-3: Examiner manual. Pearson.
Bruininks, B., & Bruininks, R. (2024). Bruininks-Oseretsky test of motor proficiency (3rd ed). Pearson. https://www.pearsonassessments.com/en-us/Store/Professional-Assessments/Motor-Sensory/Bruininks-Oseretsky-Test-of-Motor-Proficiency-%7C-Third-Edition/p/P100071001?tab=faqs
Bruininks, B., & Munsell, E. (2024, May 31). Exploring the New Features of the BOT-3. YouTube.