Standardize handwriting-interpretation tests before using them as measures of form- or position-perception¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 4 claims (4 for) · 1 study (1 associational), q2 · 1 of 1 report an effect size · 4 claims rest on one study

Description¶

From their low and unstable correlations, the authors recommend that tests such as mirror-reading, illegible-writing reading, and handwriting pairing need standardization before serving as measures of spatial ability. They write that 'Low coefficients of reliability indicate, however, the need of standardization of such tests', and specify concrete fixes: specimens of the same length, length estimated in letters not words, and presenting letters singly or in small groups as Starch did when measuring writing legibility.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Specimens of equal length measured in letters, and consideration of presenting letters singly or in small groups for form-recognition testing

Constraints¶

• The article reports that with its current unstandardized specimens, correlations between the tests were too low to support firm conclusions, and no conclusion about form habituation could be drawn from its difference-score correlations

Target Learners¶

• adult university students

Target Learning Goals¶

• measuring form-perception and position-shift interpretation

Claims¶

• Samples A and C of illegible writing were much more difficult to read than sample B, as shown by equated average times and error ranges. [+W]
• Reading rates for different samples of unmutilated illegible writing intercorrelate only moderately, with the highest correlation .552 (A 1 and B 1) and one pair too low to be significant. [+W]
• Apart from one specimen, ability to read mirror-script shows little correlation with ability to read illegible writing. [+W]
• Correlations between two series of mirror-reading tests on the same 16 subjects range widely depending on how errors are scored, from .087 to .700. [+W]

Related Strategies¶

• Develop tests of native aptitude for each school subject separately and question the Accomplishment Quotient

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Downey, J. E., and Anderson, J. E. (1914). Form and Position in Handwriting Interpretation. Part I. The Journal of Educational Psychology. https://www.google.com/search?q=%22Form+and+position+in+handwriting+interpretation%22+Downey+Anderson