An Evaluation of Handwriting Performance

The legibility components (letter formation, spacing, alignment and size) and speed of handwriting were assessed for 575 children in grades 3 to 7. Inter‐rater reliabilities were high (−69 to −97) and test‐retest reliability over one week was lower for legibility (−44 to −84) than for speed (−93). In general, reliabilities were higher for the older children. Correlations among legibility components ranged from −46 to •76, though a principal factor analysis indicated that letter formation, spacing, alignment and size were discriminable elements of legibility. Correlations of legibility component scores with teacher ratings ranged between −52 and −76. Norms for speed were consistent with Groff's data and girls wrote significantly faster and smaller than boys. Girls also made fewer errors in letter formation than boys in grades 3, 4 and 5. Graphs indicating normative performance on the handwriting tasks were prepared.