Formative Evaluation of Handwriting Quality

A test developed for formative evaluation of handwriting quality is described and validated. The test is based on a domain of content for the handwriting skill defined in terms of the deviation of the writing in a handwriting specimen from the handwriting standard. A corresponding domain of elementary test items is defined in terms of the means and the variances of the deviations from the handwriting standard in shape, size, and position of each individual letter. The elementary items are scored on a dichotomous scale and cumulated into scores for letter items and a domain-referenced final score that can be interpreted as the fraction of the domain of content of the construct of handwriting quality that is mastered. Validation of the test was based on handwriting specimens from a school class of 23 children, tested in a longitudinal design from Grades 1 through 5. Coefficients of concurrent validity for final scores equal to .91, .86, .88, and .86 were obtained for Grades 1, 2, 3, and 5, respectively, using traits of the handwriting scored on an ordinal norm-referenced scale as criteria. Coefficients of intertest, intertask, intrascorer, and interscorer reliability for final scores equal to .87, .86, .94, and .80 were found, respectively, for the handwriting specimens from Grade 2. A survey of previously published handwriting quality tests indicates that most of them are not well suited for formative purposes although most of them were adequate for summative purposes.