Computerised Handwriting Speed Test System (CHSTS): Validation of a handwriting assessment for Chinese secondary students

Abstract

Background/aim: Handwriting difficulties can be detrimental to students' performance in school tests and even in public examinations. It is crucial for school-based occupational therapists to identify students with handwriting difficulties and support them with appropriate adaptive strategies. The purpose of this study is to validate a computerised assessmentthe Computerised Handwriting Speed Test System (CHSTS) of both Chinese and English handwriting for Chinese secondary students and provide an objective reference for extra time allowance in paper-based examinations. Methods: The internal consistency, test-retest reliability, convergent and discriminant validity of CHSTS were examined using the data from 512 typically developing students and 64 students with special educational needs (SEN) in Hong Kong mainstream secondary schools. Results: Handwriting performance of senior students was better than that of junior students. High internal consistency was shown by over 0.80 Cronbach's a in all measurement items and over 0.90 item-total correlations in temporal domain items. Intra-class correlation indicated good to excellent test-retest reliability of CHSTS (all P < 0.0001). Principal Component Analysis revealed that four components in CHSTS accounted for over 80% of the variance. Handwriting performance was positively associated with manual coordination, automaticity and oculomotor control (all P < 0.05) in linear regression analyses. Students with SEN could be effectively differentiated from typically developing students (over 75% sensitivity and specificity) based on the CHSTS items. Conclusion: Validation of CHSTS is the groundwork for identifying students with handwriting difficulties and providing adaptive strategies including fair special examination arrangements for these students.

Evaluating Chinese Handwriting Performance of Primary School Students Using the Smart Handwriting Analysis and Recognition Platform (SHARP)

“…Although it is one of the most widely used handwriting assessment formats, far-point copying and dictation may also be relevant for assessing students’ handwriting performance at more advanced levels. This will require cognitive abilities such as lexical processing, phonological, morphological abilities in addition to sensorimotor skills [28]. Different formats could be adopted into further research to provide a more thorough analysis and problem detection on students’ handwriting performance.…”

Evaluation of a group-based sensorimotor intervention programme to improve Chinese handwriting of primary school students

“…It is estimated that around 10–30% of school-aged children have handwriting difficulties [ 2 ], which is one of the most common reasons for referral for occupational therapy intervention [ 3 ]. Handwriting problem is detrimental to students' academic performance, particularly when they are asked to sit in tests and examinations which require fast handwriting speed [ 4 ]. Poor academic performance can lead to a long-term negative impact on students' self-esteem, academic achievement, behavior, and attitude [ 5 ].…”

Reliability and validity of Handwriting Test for Preschool Children (HT-PRE): A new tool to assess the handwriting ability of preschool children aged 5–6 years old in Mainland China

“…While the literature reveals an extensive body of research that has examined English handwriting, similar studies on Chinese handwriting are relatively limited [1,26,[29][30][31]. The Tseng's Handwriting Speed Test is the most commonly used evaluation tool to assess primary school students' handwriting speed [32].…”