Correlations of Scores on the Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration and Copying Test in a South African Multi-Ethnic Preschool Sample

Abstract

This study assessed the intercorrelations of scores on the Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration, the locally standardized Copying Test, and teachers' ratings of scholastic skills in a South African multi-ethnic preschool sample. The study also investigated whether cultural and socioeconomic factors might influence test data. Participants were 71 Black, 101 Coloured, and 66 White children attending preschools in a semirural district. Participants' ages ranged from 4 yr., 9 mo. to 7yr., 0 mo. (M=5.8 yr., SD= 0.3 yr.). Analysis yielded a correlation of .75 between the test scores and supports the suitability of the widely used Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration in a multi-ethnic sample. Scores on the Copying Test correlated higher with teachers' ratings. However, significant differences in test performance among groups by race and socioeconomic status suggest the rate of perceptual-motor development may be related to cultural factors. Normative data are reported for groups by race and socioeconomic status.

Relationships between Motor Proficiency and Academic Performance in Mathematics and Reading in School-Aged Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review

“…A total of 19 (65%) studies [21,40,44,48,49,52,53,55,56,57,58,59,60,61,62,63,64,65,66] used standardized assessment tools to measure both fine motor proficiency and academic performance in mathematics. Of the 29 studies that examined these variables, 12 (41%) [40,48,51,54,56,57,59,64,65,66,67,68] were categorized as having ‘good’ methodological quality, 10 (34%) [44,49,52,55,58,60,61,62,69,70] were categorized as having ‘fair’ methodological quality, and seven (24%) [21,43,45,53,63,71,72] were categorized as having ‘poor’ methodological quality. A summary of the associations between the components of fine motor proficiency and academic performance in mathematics, along with the levels of evidence supporting the associations can be found in Table 1.…”

“…In studies analysing correlations between fine motor integration and mathematics performance, six studies [48,52,55,57,58,63] reported significant very weak to weak associations (r = 0.16−0.38), seven studies [49,53,56,58,60,64,71] reported moderate associations (r = 0.417−0.59), and two studies [56,64] reported a strong association (r = 0.612−0.673). The one study [45] that did not report a significant association between fine motor integration and mathematics performance was the only study conducted with high school participants.…”

“…Standardized assessment tools were used to measure both fine motor proficiency and academic performance in reading for 24 (80%) of the studies. Of the 30 studies that examined these variables, nine (30%) [40,48,54,57,59,66,68,79,80] were categorized as having ‘good’ methodological quality, 14 (47%) [44,52,55,58,60,61,62,69,81,82,83,84,85,86] were categorized as having ‘fair’ methodological quality, and seven (23%) [21,39,53,63,71,87,88] were categorized as having ‘poor’ methodological quality. A summary of the overall levels of evidence from the studies examining the associations between the components of fine motor proficiency and academic performance in reading can be found in Table 2.…”

“…The relationship between fine motor integration skills and academic performance in reading was examined most often, with 17 [39,48,52,53,54,55,58,60,63,69,71,81,83,85,86,87,88] significant positive associations out of the 22 reported. In relation to the strength of correlations between variables reported, 10 studies [48,52,53,55,58,63,81,83,85,87] found very weak to weak correlations (r = 0.163–0.38), six studies [39,58,59,71,81,88] found moderate associations (r = 0.40–0.47), and two studies [60,71] reported a strong correlation (r = 0.60–0.62).…”

“…In relation to the strength of correlations between variables reported, 10 studies [48,52,53,55,58,63,81,83,85,87] found very weak to weak correlations (r = 0.163–0.38), six studies [39,58,59,71,81,88] found moderate associations (r = 0.40–0.47), and two studies [60,71] reported a strong correlation (r = 0.60–0.62). A total of 11 [48,52,54,55,58,60,69,81,83,85,86] of the 17 studies reporting significant associations had fair-to-good methodological quality.…”