Assessment and analysis of motor-free visual perception abilities among children aged 5–12 years in Xuzhou, China

Motor-free visual perception abilities are important reference indicator for children's literacy skills. In the absence of Chinese norms, this study utilized the motor-free visual perception test-4 (MVPT-4) to assess the visual perception abilities of children aged 5–12 years in Xuzhou, China, to lay the foundation for establishing standardized norms in China. From May to July 2023, a stratified random sampling method was used to conduct MVPT-4 evaluation on 525 kindergarten and primary school children in Xuzhou, China. MVPT-4 raw scores in each age group showed an increasing trend with age, and the differences were statistically significant (P < 0.01). There was no significant difference in raw scores between genders in each age group (P > 0.05). Standard scores in each age group showed no significant difference compared to the American norms (P > 0.05). The results of this study indicated that in the absence of national or regional norms in China, American norms can be used to assess the visual perception abilities of Chinese children. This study provides a reference for clinicians and educators to identify children with potential dyslexia.