Intra- and Inter-Rater Reliability of Pointe-Readiness Tests.

Objective: To investigate via video review the intra-rater and inter-rater reliability of three pointe-readiness tests: the topple test, airplane test, and sauté test.

Methods: Ten ballet-trained pre-professional and professional dancers were videotaped performing the topple test, airplane test, and sauté test from the front and side views. The videos, written instructions, and rater score sheets were provided to the raters via individually linked electronic access over four sessions, with a washout period of 2 weeks between sessions. The videos were reviewed at slow speed and at real-time speed, with two sessions at each speed, assigned in random order. Raters received a training session prior to the start of their first session. Intraclass correlation coefficients were calculated for intra-rater and inter-rater reliability for all raters for each test and for the total score of the three tests.

Results: Twenty-two raters assessed the 10 dancers. Intra-rater reliability was good between session 1 and session 2 for the real-time speed (ICC range = 0.83-0.88), good for the slow speed (ICC = 0.83-0.85), good to excellent for the average of real-time vs slow speed (ICC = 0.88-0.94), and excellent for session 1 vs session 2 (ICC = 0.93-0.96). Inter-rater reliability was good to excellent for the first real-time speed (ICC = 0.88-0.94), for the first slow speed (ICC = 0.85-0.96), and for the first session regardless of speed (ICC = 0.88-0.96).

Conclusion: The criteria for the pointe-readiness tests are acceptable. Raters with and without a dance background were able to conduct the movement assessments with good to excellent intra-rater and inter-rater reliability in real-time review.

Level of evidence: III.