The German Motor Test (DMT) enables the measurement and evaluation of motor skills in children and adolescents aged 6–18. It was developed by leading experts from the German Association for Sports Science (dvs). The impetus for this came from a request made by the Conference of Sports Ministers (SMK) to the dvs.

"Motor performance is closely related to health. This relationship becomes stronger with increasing age. The current discussion in science, the media, and the public shows that the performance of today's children and adolescents has declined compared to previous generations.
On behalf of the Conference of Sports Ministers, the ad hoc committee “Motor Tests for Children and Adolescents” of the German Association for Sports Science developed the DMT, which allows the level of motor skills and abilities of children and adolescents to be continuously assessed nationwide in order to make future political decisions based on reliable data.

The test profile consists of a total of eight exercises and assesses physical performance in the areas of endurance, strength, coordination, speed, and agility. The test tasks only require basic motor skills and no specific skills. With the help of the DMT, both current performance (cross-sectional studies) and performance and development trends (longitudinal studies) can be determined.

The test is considered highly standardized and can be easily performed with minimal equipment. In Baden-Württemberg and North Rhine-Westphalia, the DMT is already used almost everywhere in the form of the “Kinderturn-TestPLUS” or “Motorische Test” (motor skills test). Numerous studies of the quality criteria have confirmed its good objectivity, reliability, and validity.

The test results can be evaluated manually or using an evaluation platform.

Overall, the DMT is considered a meaningful sports motor skills test profile for measuring general sports motor skills performance.