Functional Movement Screen Scoring Criteria and Deep Analysis
FMS Level 2 tests whether you can apply the Functional Movement Screen scoring rubric precisely and explain what each score does and does not mean. Expect questions on the four-point ordinal scale, bilateral scoring, clearing tests, and the difference between a true 3 and a compensating 2.
The scale and overrides
- 3 = pattern completed with all stated criteria and no compensation.
- 2 = pattern completed with a compensation or an alternate position.
- 1 = client cannot complete the pattern.
- 0 = pain anywhere during the test or its clearing test; refer and do not treat the score as a training target.
Pain overrides every other criterion. A 0 is not a severe 1. Record it and follow referral and scope rules. Clearing tests are pass/fail; a positive clearing test turns the paired screen into a 0. Shoulder clearing pairs with shoulder mobility, spinal extension with trunk stability push-up, and spinal flexion with rotary stability. Score left and right separately; the lower side drives asymmetry analysis, not an average.
What deep analysis means
Do not just name the lowest test. Identify which single criterion cost the point. In the deep squat, a 3 requires the upper torso parallel with the tibia or more vertical, femur below horizontal, knees tracking over the feet, and the dowel staying over the feet, with heels on the floor. If the client reaches depth but the dowel drifts forward over the toes, the score is 2 even when torso angle looks good. If the heels lift, also 2. If pain appears, 0.
Worked example
A client performs shoulder mobility: the right fist reaches within one hand length of the left; the left fist is within one and a half hand lengths. There is no pain and the shoulder clearing test is negative. Score right = 3, left = 2. The asymmetry, not the average, drives the analysis. The 2 means the left side met the second distance band but not the first; it does not by itself identify thoracic extension, scapular control, or soft-tissue restriction as the cause.
Traps that cost marks
Scoring a 2 as a pass; scoring pain as 1; forgetting the clearing test; averaging left and right; measuring hand length from the wrong landmark rather than the distal wrist crease to the middle fingertip; and failing to notice that dowel contact was lost.