Detailed Assessment of Speed of Handwriting, Second Edition

DASH-2
Detailed Assessment of Speed of Handwriting, Second Edition (DASH-2) is a reliable measure of handwriting speed for children and young adults. DASH-2 helps identify functional handwriting difficulties and provides relevant information for intervention planning. 
 

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  • Kits

    Starter & complete kits, print & digital

    1 option

    From £209.74
  • Test forms & reports

    Booklets, record forms, answer sheets, report usages & subscriptions

    1 option

    From £63.60
  • Support materials

    Manuals, stimulus books, replacement items & other materials

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    From £25.00
  • All products

    All tests and materials offered for DASH-2

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- of 6 results
Prices include VAT where applicable
  • DASH-2 Complete Kit (Print)
    A103000356310 Qualification Level A

    Includes:

    • Administration and Scoring Manual
    • 25 Record Forms
    • Set of Stimulus Cards

    £209.74

  • DASH-2 Administration and Scoring Manual (Print)
    A103000356314 Qualification Level A

    £116.00

  • DASH-2 Record Form Qty 25 (Print)
    A103000356315 Qualification Level A

    £63.60

  • DASH-2 Q-global Administration and Scoring Manual (Digital)
    A103000356312 Qualification Level A

    Once ordered, the digital asset is accessible by logging into Q-global and visiting the Q-global Resource Library. It is a view-only digital file.

    £110.00

  • DASH-2 Q-global Stimulus Cards (Digital)
    A103000356313 Qualification Level A

    Once ordered, the digital asset is accessible by logging into Q-global and visiting the Q-global Resource Library. It is a view-only digital file.

    £25.00

  • DASH-2 Stimulus Cards (Print)
    A103000356316 Qualification Level A

    £32.40

Overview

Publication date:
March 2024
Age range:
8 to 25 years
Scores/Interpretation:
Subtest Scaled Scores, Total Score Percentile Rank
Qualification level:
A
Completion time:
20-30 minutes
Administration:
Individual or group; paper and pencil 
Norms:
The DASH-2 norms were derived from a sample of over 1000, collected jointly in the UK and Australia/New Zealand.

Product Details

The DASH-2 can be used to identify children and young adults with handwriting speed difficulties.

The SASC Test Evaluation Committee (STEC) has approved the Detailed Assessment of Handwriting 2 (DASH 2) for inclusion on the Pre-16 and Post-16 test lists. SASC Assessment Test Guidance is available here.

Benefits of DASH-2

  • Provides standardised subtest scores for a variety of different handwriting tasks
  • Offers objective evidence on which to base applications for special accommodations in education settings
  • Suitable for both individual and group administration
  • Offers reliability, based on nationally stratified normative samples of over 1000 children and young adults collected across the UK and Australia between 2021 and 2023

DASH-2 features

DASH-2 includes 5 subtests that are administered and scored by hand and allow comparison of handwriting performance during written tasks with varying demands.

The DASH-2 subtests:

  • Copy Best
  • Alphabet Writing
  • Copy Fast
  • Free Writing
  • Graphic Speed

 

 

Resources

The following resources are available for DASH-2

 
 

FAQs

Can I photocopy the DASH-2 materials onto coloured paper (or use a coloured overlay) if that is the student’s usual way of working?

For the DASH-2 standardisation, all test materials were printed on white paper. As any changes made to the materials may affect the examinee’s results, these types of modifications are not generally recommended. However, when a student uses coloured paper or overlays for their usual way of working, you may decide that adapting the test in this way is appropriate. When reporting and interpreting the test results, the change must be noted and commented on.

How do I decide which sentence to use on the Copying tasks?

Sentences A1 (for ages 8-16) and A3 (for ages 17-25) should be used the first time an individual is being assessed. When you are re-assessing, check the previous Record Form and confirm that the correct sentence was used. Then use the alternate form when repeating the test.

What should I do if making the time mark seems to disrupt the flow of the student's writing - can I omit this?

No; do not omit the time marks as this would change the way the tasks are administered and reduce the amount of useful information gained from the test (e.g. the profile of wpm during the 10-minute free writing task). If you feel making the time mark has had an effect on the student's result, the disruption should be noted and commented on in your report.

Do I need to administer all five tasks in the DASH-2?

Handwriting speed may vary across different writing tasks. DASH-2 was designed to be a comprehensive measure of legible handwriting speed, therefore it includes a range of tasks involving different writing demands. Ideally all tasks should be completed, however parts of DASH/DASH 17+ have been used successfully for different purposes. For example, the Copy Best and Copy Fast tasks have been used outside of the DASH as part of a broader writing/dysgraphia assessment.

Is DASH-2 suitable for use with students with English as an additional language?

Yes. The standardisation sample included those with English as their primary language and those with English as an additional language (EAL). However, any student who was unable to understand English (i.e. follow instructions, interact with the examiner, attempt all tasks) was excluded from the sample. Examiners should always use their professional judgement to ascertain whether a slow handwriting speed may be associated with language issues.

Can I use DASH-2 to look at response to intervention?

Yes, you can. The fact that DASH-2 includes both an overall measure of handwriting speed as well as scaled scores for a variety of tasks with differing demands makes it ideal for assessing progress in this area. Also, the supplementary scores can be used as measures of change.

Can I use DASH-2 in telepractice?

Yes, you can. Guidelines are provided to help you prepare for and administer a remote assessment. See this link for further information on telepractice, DASH-2 and further resources Telepractice and the DASH and DASH 17+ 

What if the student writes for less than 10 minutes on the Free Writing task, how do I score this?

The formal scoring instructions in the manual should be followed as if the student wrote for the full 10 minutes. Take the total number of words written, divide by 10 to calculate an average wpm score and find the appropriate standard score from table B1. However, it may also be useful to calculate a wpm score which is based on the total amount of time that the examinee actually wrote (e.g. a student who wrote X words then stopped after 3 minutes would have a formal score of X/10 and an “informal” score of X/3. A comparison of these two scores may be helpful in your interpretation of the formal test results.

How do I choose which Free Writing topic to use?

The ‘My Life’ topic should be used in most circumstances for the first administration of DASH-2. The alternative topic ‘Past/Present/Future’ can be used if 'My Life' is not considered appropriate due to family or personal circumstances, or for re-assessment. Examiners may also choose to use 'Past/Present/Future’ if they feel it's appropriate and necessary to use a more challenging topic than 'My Life'.

How do I score illegible words in the Free Writing task?

Words that cannot be read/deciphered, even given the context of the writing, should be bracketed and counted up separately. These are not included in the wpm score but are used to calculate the percentage of illegible words overall. The percentage of illegible words should be considered alongside the scaled score for the task.

Were there students in-education and out-of- education in the standardisation sample and was there a difference between them?

There were students both in and out of education in the sample. These groups were compared and no significant difference was found between them on either the individual tasks or the total standard score. Consequently,data from these two groups were combined to derive the norms.

What proportion of students with dyslexia were included in the standardisation sample?

All standardised tests aim to include a representative proportion of individuals with various educational/clinical characteristics in the sample. The DASH-2 sample included some individuals with dyslexia. In addition, a separate validation study was undertaken which compared a group of individuals with a diagnosis of dyslexia to a typically developing group matched on age, sex and parent/caregiver educational level. The results confirmed that DASH-2 was suitable for students with dyslexia.

Can I use just the Free Writing task for applying for Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA)/Access arrangements in the UK?

We recommend administering all tasks from DASH-2 to obtain the most comprehensive and accurate measure of handwriting speed. However, performance on the Free Writing task alone (or the Total Standard Score from DASH-2) can be used as evidence to apply for DSA and Access Arrangements in the UK.  

Complimentary Training

Complimentary assessment overviews and training

Learn more about DASH-2 and how to use it with fidelity.

Whether you’ve purchased this assessment or need additional information to help make your purchase decision, we’ve got complimentary on-demand, introductory training to help guide you.

Register for Brainshark to access the brief assessment overview, including a description of the components, types of scores provided, and applicable clinical populations.

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Next Steps

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*If you are a new registrant, you will receive an email with the subject line, “Your Brainshark Username and Password” from noreplies@brainshark.com. This email will contain your username and temporary password. You will be prompted to reset your password when you log in for the first time.

 

Webinars

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