Predictive validity of kindergarten assessments on handwriting readiness.
Three quick kindergarten motor tests spot kids who will write poorly in first grade.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team gave three quick motor tests to kindergarten kids.
WRITIC-TP checks pencil control. Beery™VMI checks eye-hand copy skills. Nine-Hole Peg tests finger speed.
They waited one year, then scored the same kids’ first-grade handwriting for neatness and speed.
What they found
Kids who scored low on any of the three tests in kindergarten wrote messier and slower the next year.
The tests together flagged almost every child who later struggled with handwriting.
How this fits with other research
Tal-Saban et al. (2019) found the same link, but in college students with dysgraphia. Weak motor scores still predicted poor handwriting, showing the pattern lasts across ages.
Noda et al. (2013) looked at second-graders and saw that both inattention and fine-motor scores predicted writing fluency. The 2015 paper narrows the lens to pure motor tests and shows they work a year earlier, in kindergarten.
Cavézian et al. (2010) and Huang et al. (2014) also built preschool motor screens, but for vision and bilateral coordination. Together these studies give you a menu: pick the screen that matches the risk you worry about.
Why it matters
You can give all three tests in under 15 minutes during kindergarten intake. Low scores tell you which kids need extra motor practice before handwriting demands jump. Add the Beery™VMI to your baseline packet this fall and you will spot future writing problems before they cost academic time.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
We investigated the predictive value of a new kindergarten assessment of handwriting readiness on handwriting performance in first grade as evaluated by the Systematic Screening for Handwriting Difficulties (Dutch abbreviation: SOS). The kindergarten assessment consisted of the Writing Readiness Inventory Tool In Context (WRITIC), the Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration (Beery™VMI) and the Nine-Hole Peg Test (9-HPT). The WRITIC evaluates in kindergarten children (aged 5-6 years) prewriting skills, the Beery™VMI and 9-HPT evaluate visual motor integration and fine-motor coordination, all elements important for handwriting readiness. In kindergarten, 109 children (55 boys; mean age 70 months, SD 4.8 months) were tested with the WRITIC, Beery™VMI and 9-HPT and one year later in first grade (mean age 85 months, SD 4.5 months) with the SOS. A multivariable linear mixed model was used to identify variables that independently predict outcomes in first grade (SOS): baseline scores on WRITIC-TP, Beery™VMI, 9-HPT, 'sustained attention,' 'gender,' 'age' and 'intervention' in the intermediate period. The results showed that WRITIC-TP, Beery™VMI, and 9-HPT, 'sustained attention,' 'gender' and 'intervention' had all predictive value on the handwriting outcome. Thereby WRITIC-TP was the main predictor for outcome of SOS-Quality, and Beery™VMI and 9-HPT were the main predictors of SOS-Speed. This kindergarten assessment of WRITIC-TP, Beery™VMI, and 9-HPT contributes to the detection of children at risk for developing handwriting problems.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2015 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2014.08.014