Visuo-Motor Ability for School Prediction: A Seven-Year Study

Abstract

The relationship of visuo-motor ability and school achievement over the 7-yr. elementary school period was examined using a longitudinal paradigm in which data were collected on the same 73 children at kindergarten, Grades 3 and 6. Visuo-motor performance was measured by the Bender-Gestalt, school achievement by standard achievement tests. Analyses determined patterns of visuo-motor performance over the age span, and considered the predictive and diagnostic utility of the Bender for school achievement. Results suggest that the kindergarten Bender is a surprisingly useful predictor of educational achievement in the upper elementary school grades.