INTERRATER RELIABILITY OF THE HANDWRITING SPEED TEST

The Handwriting Speed Test (HST), a standardized noon-referenced test, was developed to provide an objective evaluation of the handwriting s peed of school students from approximately 8 to 18 years of age. Part of the test development involved an examination of interrater reliabil ity. Two raters scored 165 (13%) of the total 1292 handwriting samples . Using intraclass correlation coefficients, the interrater reliabilit y was found to be excellent (ICC=1.00, P<0.0001). The process of exami ning interrater reliability resulted in modification to the scoring cr iteria of the test. Excellent inter-rater reliability provides support fbr the HST as a valuable clinical and research tool.