Normative data for the WRITIC: a new test for handwriting readiness in kindergarten children

Background: Practicing handwriting is important for learning reading and spelling. So, mastering handwriting is still vital, especially in our current computer-age. Early evaluation of writing readiness is essential to predict... [ view full abstract ]

Background:
Practicing handwriting is important for learning reading and spelling. So, mastering handwriting is still vital, especially in our current computer-age. Early evaluation of writing readiness is essential to predict and prevent handwriting problems. Therefore we developed an occupation-based measurement, the Writing Readiness Inventory Tool In Children (WRITIC), administered in the classroom. In former studies we established reliability and content, construct, and predictive validity (van Hartingsveldt et al., 2015)
Method:
A cross-sectional cohort study was performed to collect normative values of the WRITIC. We measured 188 boys and 183 girls of 5-6 years old (mean 67 months) in rural and city areas to represent children of varied cultural backgrounds. The influence of age and gender was examined with linear regression analysis. The relationship between items of the WRITIC and gender were analysed by Spearman rank correlation coefficients.
Results:
Analysis revealed that gender influenced performance of the WRITIC (p=0.01), while age has no influence (p=0.145). Correlations with gender were especially found for items regarding paper-and-pencil tasks, which needed practice to learn (e.g. colouring, name writing, copying letters and numbers) (p<0.01).
Conclusion:
The significant effect of gender is in accordance with the literature: kindergarten girls perform better on paper-and-pencil tasks then boys and this will influence cut-off points of the WRITIC.
Application to Practice:
With the collected norms WRITIC can be used in practice. This assessment contributes to the detection of kindergarten children at risk to develop handwriting problems and may assist in timely intervention and thus prevent future handwriting problems.