A comparison of performance outcomes between the Minnesota Rate of Manipulation Test and the Minnesota Manual Dexterity Test

This study examined the performance outcomes between two tests of manual dexterity, the Minnesota Rate of Manipulation Test [1] and the Minnesota Manual Dexterity Test (1981). Even though the tests are constructed differently and are different versions of the Complete Minnesota Dexterity tests, both tests utilize the same instruction manual and the same normative data. The researchers measured 233 random participants at a Midwestern international airport and in the student center at a local university in Indiana. Each participant completed three trials of a subtest on both versions of the test. One sample t-tests on difference scores indicated statistically significant differences on outcomes of both subtest comparisons as well as overall test score differences (p < 0.000). These significantly different outcomes on the two tests illustrate the need to establish separate normative data on the latest version of the test, the Minnesota Manual Dexterity Test.