Developmental Trends in Letter-Printing Skill

Abstract

Tests of kindergarten to Grade 3 students' ability to copy upper- and lower-case primary print letters showed that lower-case letters are more difficult to print. Within upper- and lower-case formats, the letters vary considerably in difficulty as a function of their composition and/or the degree of fine motor control required. Factor analyses, based upon separate intercorrelations for upper- and lower-case letters, produced 7 factors for each type of letter. Although some of the factors tended to contain letters with similar characteristics, no obvious rationale explaining the factor pattern could be developed.