(KOPPITZ-2) Koppitz Developmental Scoring System for the Bender Gestalt Test, Second Edition

BY CECIL R. REYNOLDS, PHD

This revision of Elizabeth Koppitz’s Bender Gestalt scoring system retains the developmental approach that made the original so popular while adding new norms, an expanded age range, and improved reliability. These changes give clinicians and educators a highly useful measure of visual–motor integration across the life span.

Using the Bender Gestalt II Stimulus Cards, the KOPPITZ-2 requires the examinee to draw increasingly complex figures on a plain sheet of white paper. This relatively unstructured task assesses the individual’s ability to relate visual stimuli to motor responses and to organize the effort independently.  

Individually administered in just 5 to 10 minutes, the KOPPITZ-2 includes the following key features:

• New norms based on a nationally representative sample of 3,600 people
• An expanded age range—from 5 to 85+ years (which allows evaluation of special education students up to age 21)
• Separate scoring systems for young children (ages 5 to 7 years) and older children and adults (ages 8 to 85+ years)
• The addition of two- and three-dimensional drawings for older children and adults—drawings that can reveal subtle visual–motor integration deficits
• A completely nonverbal format that makes the test appropriate for individuals from all cultural and ethnic backgrounds
• High reliability across age, gender, and ethnicity
• Detailed scoring guidelines that ensure high interscorer reliability
• A variety of scores—standard scores, percentile ranks, specialized scores, and age equivalents—to meet the needs of all practitioners
• A separate section of the Manual explaining how to use Koppitz Emotional Indicators (EIs) and a specialized form for this purpose

More clinically useful than ever, the KOPPITZ-2 can help you determine the presence and degree of visual–motor problems; identify candidates for remediation or visual–motor training; monitor progress in cases of acute injury or degenerative disease; and evaluate the effectiveness of intervention efforts.