1. Chapter 16
Using Measures of Perceptual and
Perceptual-Motor Skills

2. Measuring Perception
• Perception
– Process of acquiring, interpreting, and organizing
sensory information
• Interest in perception
– Necessary for basic visual and motor performance
– Association with disorder
– Thought by some to be a component of higher
ordered processes (evident by incorporation into IQ
tests and intervention plans)
• However, some interventions of this type (e.g. sensory
integration) lack evidence in regard to their efficacy

3. Practical Use of Perceptual-Motor
Assessment
1. Screen students for perceptual-motor deficits
2. Used to assess for deficits in students who
are already experiencing learning problems
3. Eligibility decisions
4. Component of comprehensive assessments
relating to brain injury or emotional
disturbance

4. Overview of Specific Tests
• Bender Visual-Motor Gestalt Test, Second
Edition (BVMGT-2)
• Koppitz-2 Scoring System for the BVMGT-2
• Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual
Motor Integration (Beery VMI)

5. Bender Visual-Motor Gestalt Test,
Second Edition (BVMGT-2)
• General
– Norm-referenced, individually administered test
– Visual-motor integration skills for individuals 4-85
years of age
• Norm population
– 4,000 individuals across all age ranges
– Representative of several demographic subgroups
– However:
• Underrepresentation of individuals with (a) limited English
proficiency, (b) sensory or communication deficits, (c) brain
injury, and (d) severe behavioral/emotional disorders

6. Bender Visual-Motor Gestalt Test,
Second Edition (BVMGT-2)
• Primary test
– Copying test: Requires individuals to reproduce
designs produced individually on a card
– Untimed
• Subtests
– Recalling designs
– Motor test
– Perception test

7. Bender Visual-Motor Gestalt Test,
Second Edition (BVMGT-2)
• Scores
– Each design scored on a 5-point scale
– Raw scores converted to standard scores and
percentiles
• Reliability
– Sufficient split-half for copying test
– Low test-retest reliability for the copying and recall
tests
– No reliability data for motor or perception subtests

8. Bender Visual-Motor Gestalt Test,
Second Edition (BVMGT-2)
• Validity
– Strong content validity evidence
– Inconsistent criterion-related validity evidence
– No evidence for:
• Categorizing undiagnosed individuals
• Motor and perception subtests

9. Koppitz-2 Scoring System for the
BVMGT-2
• General
– Applied to the same materials as the BVMGT-2
– Includes supplemental emotional indicators and more
detailed scoring information
– Timed
• Scores
– Raw scores converted to scaled scores, standard
scores, normal curve equivalents, stanines, and age
equivalents
• Norm population
– Identical to BVMGT-2 norm population

10. Koppitz-2 Scoring System for the
BVMGT-2
• Reliability
– Adequate internal consistency and test-retest
data for screening purposes
• Validity
– Limited validity evidence
• Scores increase with age
• Stronger correlation with non-verbal measures when
compared to verbal measures

11. Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of
Visual Motor Integration (Beery VMI)
• General
– Set of geometric forms to be copied on paper using a
pencil
– Measures integration of visual and motor abilities
• Primary use as a screening tool
– Supplemental tests measuring motor and visual skills
separately
• Scores
– 30 items
– Raw scores converted into developmental age and
grade equivalents, standard scores, scaled scores,
stanines, or percentiles

12. Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of
Visual Motor Integration (Beery VMI)
• Norm population
– 2010 update includes 1,737 children ages 2-18
– Covers a broad range of demographic variables
but does not provide extensive cross-tabulations
• Reliability
– 2 additions to a relatively extensive reliabiity
research base
• Updated (and adequate) test-retest and interscorer
reliability data

13. Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of
Visual Motor Integration (Beery VMI)
• Validity
– Item response theory (IRT) analysis provided for
the 2010 update
– Content/Construct validity evidence provided via
item selection process and evidence for
developmental performance