- Real OT Solutions® offers evidence-based handwriting interventions that help young children improve handwriting legibility.
- To test the improvements in their handwriting, we use a variety of outcome measures and testing methods.
- In this study, we found that Beery scores don’t always reflect changes in handwriting; rather, they monitor broader types of visual motor integration.
- This study raises the question of which methods teachers and occupational therapists should use to track improvements in writing and other fine motor skills.
Learn More About Beery VMI Scoring
The Beery–Buktenica Test of Visual Motor Integration (VMI) is a specialty method designed to determine readiness for writing, and by extension whether a person is eligible for OT services. Because Real OT Solutions® is dedicated to evidence-based handwriting practice for our Size Matters® program, we explored all avenues to test improvement, including Beery VMI scoring.
Using VMI, we assessed 207 children using our program to teach kids handwriting, including kindergartners, first-graders, and second-grade students. Discover what the pre-test and post-test VMI scores showed, comparing the control group and the intervention group after 40 sessions of SMHP®.
What is Beery VMI Scoring
The VMI is often used by Psychologists to obtain standardized scores and developmental ages regarding visual motor integration. It is also used by occupational therapists to determine eligibility for school-based therapy. VMI motor coordination scores can assess a person’s capacity for visual and motor skills, guiding the therapist to the appropriate treatment.
However, Beery VMI score interpretation offers more than just screening and assessment resources. According to some studies, VMI scores have been used as outcome measures to determine the improvements in VMI skills. Unfortunately, there is no conclusive evidence to determine whether Beery VMI scoring is the best way to measure outcomes after handwriting interventions.
Method
The group of students was separated into a control group and an intervention group. The intervention group received 40 sessions of SMHP®, while the control group received regular instruction. We analyzed the group differences using paired and independent tests and samples.
Procedures
With the approval of the institutional review board and consent from the parents of all students, teachers led the groups using fidelity manuals about the proper implementation of SMHP® intervention. They implemented the intervention for the appropriate test group in 20-minute sessions over eight weeks, while the control group received their usual handwriting instruction.
Teachers in both groups administered three tests before and after the intervention period, including:
- The Test of Handwriting Skills–Revised
- Minnesota Handwriting Assessment
- Beery VMI Scoring
Raw scores were then converted into standardized scores using the test manuals, based on each child’s age at the time of testing. An occupational therapist blind scored all the VMI assessments for consistency.
Results
We used both handwriting measures and Beery VMI scoring to test the results of SMHP® interventions. While the intervention group showed massive improvements in handwriting measures, their VMI skills didn’t demonstrate a significant change. Our Beery VMI score interpretation suggests that VMI scores may not detect progress in handwriting related to OT handwriting programs.
Discussion
Since current research relies heavily on various correlational methods to examine visual-motor integration and handwriting legibility, this failure of Beery VMI scoring to show a difference where other tests do raises an important question about Beery VMI score interpretation. Some researchers caution that correlational studies can show an association between VMI and handwriting, but they cannot be used to imply causation.
There are other recent studies that also conclude Beery VMI scoring is not an effective measure to determine whether certain handwriting interventions actually work, as the test isn’t sensitive enough to detect changes in fine VMI skills. Even when changes in handwriting are clearly visible, there was very little difference between pre-program and post-program VMI scores. Clearly, the Beery test is not useful for determining whether an evidence-based handwriting intervention program is actually effective.
Studies Testing Beery VMI Scoring
Here are several recent studies that explore the efficacy of VMI motor coordination tests after writing interventions:
- McGarrigle and Nelson (2006): VMI didn’t detect any change in visual-motor coordination after a six-week course of OT intervention, even in cases where handwriting significantly improved.
- Bazyk et al. (2009): In a study spanning seven months of OT intervention, children with disabilities saw improvements in a variety of fine motor skills, including pencil grip and literacy scores, but no changes in Beery VMI scoring.
- Howe et al. (2013): Children showed marked improvement in handwriting legibility after OT-based interventions, but their VMI skills didn’t show any change.
While Beery VMI score interpretation may be the problem, all available literature points to VMI as an incomplete method for examining handwriting interventions.
Implications for Your OT Practice
The results of our study suggest that Beery VMI score interpretation and testing may not be the ideal outcome measure for SMHP® and other writing interventions. If VMI is the only measure you’re using to gauge improvements in handwriting, we recommend that you integrate other outcome measurements to monitor progress, particularly in students who haven’t shown changes in VMI throughout their therapy sessions.
Unfortunately, VMI is consistently tied to handwriting, but the Beery-Buktenica developmental test of visual motor integration was never designed to screen for handwriting skills. Based on the outcomes of various studies, we believe that while Beery VMI scoring is a vital tool for assessing visual-motor integration, it should not be the sole measure of success.
Get the full picture of our study to better inform your practice when you read the full report here: Test of Visual Motor Integration (VMI): An Effective Outcome Measure for Handwriting Interventions for Kindergarten, First-Grade, and Second-Grade Students
