A correlational study of the early identification screening tool (EIST) and the developmental test of visual perception-3 (DTVP-3) for Grade R learners

<p dir="ltr">The research is a correlational study of the Gauteng Department of Basic Education (DBE) Early Identification Screen Tool (EIST) used in grade R and the standardised tool Developmental Test of Visual Perception-3 (DTVP-3) mostly used by occupational therapists to identify visual perception and visual motor integration deficits. The study highlights the importance of early identification of developmental delays and the positive effects of early childhood development for school readiness and academic performance. A quantitative non-experimental correlational cross-sectional study design was used, and the results of two measurement tools (EIST and the DTVP-3) were correlated on a group of (n=60) grade R learners from public primary schools in the Ga-Rankuwa, Tshwane West district. The General Visual Perception (GVP) of the DTVP-3 and the total score of the EIST were correlated using the point-biserial correlation statistical measure. All analyses were performed at a 5% level of significance.</p><p dir="ltr">They found that the EIST, coded as binary (0/1), did not exhibit a meaningful linear relationship with the DTVP-3 scores. This indicated that the EIST had limited effectiveness in identifying visual perception and motor integration deficits in n=60 Grade R learners in the Ga-Rankuwa Tshwane West district. Moreover, the combined findings suggested that the EIST, in its current form, had limited reliability in identifying visual perception and motor integration deficits when benchmarked against the DTVP-3. Further refinement of the EIST, such as aligning items more closely with DTVP-3 constructs and incorporating a graded response scale, may enhance its ability to identify visual perception and motor integration deficits in Grade R learners.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p>