THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LONGHAND PENMANSHIP AND SHORTHAND WRITING

The purpose of this study is to determine the predictive value of longhand penmanship for success in Gregg Shorthand writing. The longhand tests consisted of copying the first four sentences of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address; the shorthand specimens were obtained from copying the entire Address. The rating scale selected for classifying longhand samples was the Ayres Handwriting Scale by Leonard P. Ayres, while the shorthand specimens were rated by Hoke’s Shorthand Penmanship Scale. Three longhand specimens were secured from each pupil, one at the first of the year, one at the beginning of the second semester, and one at the conclusion of the school year. The shorthand specimen was obtained at the end of the year, together with the causes for withdrawals from shorthand. These tests were administered to 676 Shorthand I students, who represented thirty high schools in the state of Kansas. The students were composed of 662 girls and 14 boys, 628 righthanded students and 48 lefthanded students. The correlations obtained between the speed and quality of longhand and shorthand writing are significant. Further consideration of longhand penmanship might prove its usefulness as a part of a battery of tests for predictive and selective purposes