Plate Tapping

The Plate Tapping test (also called the alternating hand movement test or speed of limb movement test) is a Eurofit battery assessment of hand-eye coordination and motor speed. The participant alternately taps two circular plates 60 cm apart as fast as possible for 25 cycles (50 touches). Data are from Tomkinson et al. (2018), a pooled analysis of 148,093 European children and adolescents from 19 countries aged 9 to 17.

How to Perform This Test (Protocol)

Equipment
  • Two circular discs (20 cm diameter) fixed to a table 60 cm apart (centre-to-centre)
  • A rectangular plate (10 × 20 cm) placed midway between the discs
  • Stopwatch
Protocol Steps
  1. The participant places the non-preferred hand flat on the central rectangle.
  2. The preferred hand starts on one of the discs.
  3. On 'go', the participant moves the preferred hand back and forth, alternately touching each disc as fast as possible, 25 times each (50 touches total).
  4. Record the time to complete 25 full cycles (one touch per disc = one cycle).
Scoring

Time in seconds to complete 25 cycles. Lower times indicate faster motor speed and better coordination. Two trials are typically given; record the best.

Notes

The preferred hand performs the tapping. The non-preferred hand remains on the central rectangle throughout to stabilize posture.

Data source: Tomkinson et al. 2018 (Eurofit) (2018) · n=148.1K About this study

Plate Tapping Neurological

Plate Tapping Norms Chart by Age and Sex (s)

Age Sex Percentile
5th 25th 50th 75th 95th
9 Male 13.02 15.09 16.96 19.37 24.05
Female 12.09 13.97 15.83 18.53 25.25
10 Male 12.17 13.99 15.61 17.66 21.55
Female 11.63 13.30 14.90 17.16 22.35
11 Male 11.44 13.05 14.46 16.23 19.48
Female 11.16 12.63 14.01 15.88 19.93
12 Male 10.87 12.32 13.57 15.12 17.91
Female 10.95 12.28 13.50 15.11 18.41
13 Male 10.28 11.58 12.68 14.03 16.44
Female 10.64 11.83 12.88 14.25 16.92
14 Male 9.72 10.88 11.86 13.04 15.12
Female 10.21 11.26 12.18 13.33 15.51
15 Male 9.22 10.26 11.14 12.19 14.00
Female 10.07 11.06 11.91 12.98 14.95
16 Male 8.94 9.92 10.74 11.71 13.38
Female 9.97 10.91 11.73 12.74 14.58
17 Male 8.82 9.77 10.56 11.50 13.11
Female 9.95 10.90 11.71 12.71 14.54

What to expect by age group

Typical range (25th to 75th percentile) by age group (s)
Age MalesFemales
9 15.09 to 19.3713.97 to 18.53
10 13.99 to 17.6613.30 to 17.16
11 13.05 to 16.2312.63 to 15.88
12 12.32 to 15.1212.28 to 15.11
13 11.58 to 14.0311.83 to 14.25
14 10.88 to 13.0411.26 to 13.33
15 10.26 to 12.1911.06 to 12.98
16 9.92 to 11.7110.91 to 12.74
17 9.77 to 11.5010.90 to 12.71

Detailed Breakdowns

Select an age group and sex below for detailed percentile charts, tables, and ratings.

Males
91011121314151617
Females
91011121314151617
Age trend (percentiles)

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are girls faster than boys at age 9?

Girls score faster than boys at age 9 (median 11.3 s vs 11.8 s). Boys improve steadily through age 17, passing girls around age 12–13. Girls plateau from around age 15.

Is P25 interpolated?

Yes. Tomkinson et al. (2018) report P10, P20, P30, P70, P80, and P90 directly, but not P25 or P75. P25 is approximated as (P20+P30)/2 and P75 as (P70+P80)/2, consistent with the convention used for all Eurofit metrics on this site.

What does this test measure?

Plate Tapping measures upper-limb movement speed and coordination, especially the ability to make rapid alternating hand movements. It is more a test of motor speed and rhythm than a pure reaction-time test.

Are there adult norms for the Plate Tapping test?

The norms on this page are for ages 9–17 from the Tomkinson 2018 Eurofit meta-analysis. The original Eurofit battery was designed for school-aged youth, and large adult normative datasets for this specific protocol are not available. In adults, upper-limb motor speed is more often assessed with tests such as the 9-Hole Peg Test in clinical settings.

How does this test relate to reaction time?

Plate Tapping includes movement speed and motor coordination, whereas a simple reaction-time test mainly measures the delay between a stimulus and the start of a response. Someone can score well on one without topping the other. The overlap is real, but the tests are not measuring the same thing.

Related Metrics

Eurofit Battery

This metric is part of the Eurofit, a standardised 9-test battery for children and adolescents aged 6-18.