Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration, Sixth Edition (Beery VMI) - Reviews

The Beery-Buktenica visual-motor integration test is a test that identifies problems with visual perception, motor coordination, and visual-motor integration such as hand-eye coordination. The product is also called The Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration or VMI, and it can be used with individuals from age two upwards. The sixth edition of the Beery VMI remains strongly focused upon early childhood education and includes updated norms for ages 2 years to 100 years.

The Beery-Buktenica test is usually carried out individually and the child is given a booklet containing increasingly complex geometric figures. They are asked to copy them without any erasing and without rotating the booklet in any direction. The test is given in two versions: the Short Test Form containing 15 figures is used for ages three through eight; the Long Test Form, with 24 figures, is used for older children, adolescents, and adults with developmental delay. A raw score based on the number of correct copies is converted based on norms for each age group, and results are reported as converted scores and percentiles. The test is untimed but usually takes 10–15 minutes to administer. The Beery VMI series also provides supplemental Visual Perception and Motor Co-ordination tests, which use the same stimulus forms as the Short Format and Full Format tests.
The Beery VMI can be used by psychologists, occupational therapists, learning disability specialists, specialist teachers and other professionals to help:

-Identify individuals who may be encountering difficulties in visual-motor integration
-Make appropriate referrals for needed services
-Test the effectiveness of educational and other interventions
-Conduct research

Having used this test with a number of children covering a wide age range, I would recommend it as part of a specialist assessment where the assessor has concerns about a child’s functioning in these areas. The manual and forms are easy to understand and it is fascinating to observe the different ways in which children respond to the test.