Evaluation of Visual-Motor Integration Skills in Preschool and Elementary School-Aged Chinese Children

Background: Visual-motor integration is the ability to coordinate visual perceptual and motor skills. The Beery Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration (VMI) is a standardized copy forms-type test that is frequently used to assess visual-motor integration. In China, there are few effective methods to assess visual-motor integration skill in children. The intention of this study was to determine whether Chinese children exhibit VMI performance comparable to established U.S. norms. Methods: Three hundred fifty-six children, aged three to 12 years old from six public schools in Shanghai and Ningbo, were administered the VMI. The students were arranged in groups of four to ten for each test administrator. Participants were allowed as much time as needed to complete the VMI. Results: Standard scores for each age group and the entire group were statistically compared to the corresponding mean value for United States children. Except for two groups (3.0 to 3.11 (p = 0.45) and 10.0 to 10.11 (p = 0.09)), the mean standard score for Chinese children was significantly higher than the normative mean for U.S. children (p<0.005). Actual values were shifted upward relative to that expected at each age. The following equation was derived to allow comparison to U.S. norms (Adjusted score = 0.956 (Chinese VMI raw score) – 1.098). Conclusion: Differences related to gender and place of residence were observed within the Chinese population sampled. The equations and tabular guidelines derived from this study allow practitioners in China to administer the VMI and apply a correction factor to raw scores, such that these scores can be more closely compared to published U.S. normative data. This study underscores the need to use customized scoring criteria for the VMI with children in China.