Development and validation of the design organization test (DOT): A rapid screening instrument for assessing visuospatial ability

A brief paper-and-pencil instrument was developed to rapidly assess visuospatial ability and serve as an alterative to the WAIS Block Design subtests during screening or when assessment time is limited. The Design Organization Test (DOT) consists of square black-and-white grids with visual patterns similar to those of the Block Design subtests. Administration is straightforward and requires examinees to reproduce as many designs as possible in 2 minutes using a numerical code key. For 411 college students, alternate forms of the DOT yielded reliability estimates comparable to that of the test-retest reliability of WAIS-III Block Design subtest. In a clinical sample, the DOT was significantly correlated (r = .92) with WAIS-III Block Design scores and was successfully substituted in place of Block Design raw scores without significant change in Performance IQ or Full Scale IQ. The results suggest that the DOT provides a useful and rapid screening measure of visuospatial ability.