Development and preliminary evaluation of a computer-assisted assessment tool for Chinese prewriting skills in preschoolers

Introduction Writing readiness is a critical milestone for children transitioning from preschool to formal schooling. This preliminary study introduces the Chinese Pre-writing Assessment Tool (CPAT), a computer-assisted instrument designed to provide an objective evaluation of pre-writing skills. Unlike traditional measures, the CPAT uniquely integrates both perceptual-motor and linguistic-cognitive components tailored to the Chinese writing system. Methods A preliminary evaluation was conducted with 143 senior kindergarteners to examine the tool’s psychometric properties. The analysis assessed internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and inter-rater reliability. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was employed to validate the construct validity and explore the predictive relationships between pre-writing components and writing outcomes. Results The CPAT demonstrated promising reliability and robust internal structural validity, offering an option for the objective evaluation of pre-writing skills. SEM results indicated that writing legibility is primarily predicted by visual-motor integration (VMI) and orthographic awareness (OA), whereas writing fluency is significantly influenced by VMI speed. Notably, pencil grip emerged as a potential facilitator for Chinese writing performance, showing a distinct pattern compared to alphabetic scripts. Discussion These preliminary findings suggest the CPAT is a promising framework for evaluating Chinese pre-writing. However, the small sample size and cross-sectional design limit generalizability. Future work should focus on establishing formal cut-off scores, implementing automated scoring, and incorporating real-time force tracking to enhance the tool’s clinical and predictive utility.