Handwriting movement quality in prekindergarten and kindergarten children

A Handwriting Movement Rating Scale (HMRS) was devised to help evaluate children's kinetic ability during the early stages of acquiring this skill. Test subjects were 72 children, divided into four groups according to age and scholastic ability. Normal kindergarten-age children scored significantly better than those in the prekindergarten category, supporting the general observation that handwriting movement improves with maturation and experience. Kindergarten children identified as being at risk for future learning problems performed significantly lower on the HMRS than the normal kindergarten group. There was no significant difference between the scores of at-risk and retained (held-over) kindergarten children. In a second experimental sampling of 57 normal kindergarten children, 35% achieved perfect scores. The HMRS appears to be a useful adjunct in the assessment of handwriting problems.