Commonmealth of Massachusefts
Chap. 502, Acts of 1906
Directions for Testing Sight and Hearing
PREPARED BY THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH
TO TEST THE EYESIGHT
Hang the Snellen test letters in a good clear light (side light preferred), on a
Place the child 20 feet from the letters, one eye being covered
level with the head.
with a card held firmly against the nose, without pressing on the covered eye, and
have him read aloud, from left to right, the smallest letters he can see on the card.
a record of the result. Children who have not learned their letters, obviously, cannot
be given this eyesight test until after they have learned them.
Make
[NOTE. When not in use, the chart of test letters and the reading test card should be placed in the
envelope in which they are sent, to keep them from becoming soiled and illegible. When they are damaged, a
requisition should be made on the State Board of Education for a new set.]
To record the acuteness of eyesight. There is a mumber over each line of
the test letters, which shows the distance in feet at which these letters should be read
by a normal eye.
50, 40, 30 and 20. At a distance of 20 feet, the average normal eye should read the
letters on the 20-foot line, and if this is done correctly, or with a mistake of one or two
letters, the vision may be noted as 20/20, or normal. In this fraction the numerator is
the distance in feet at which the letters are read, and the denominator is the number
From top to bottom, the lines on the card are numbered respectively,
over the smallest line of letters read. If the smallest letters which can be read are on
the 30-foot line, the vision will be noted as 20/30; if the letters on the 40-foot line are
the smallest that can be read, the record will be 20/0; if the letters on the 50-foot
line are the smallest that can be read, the record will be 20/
If the child cannot see the largest letters, the 50-foot line, have him approach
If 5 feet is the greatest
slowly until a distance is found where they can be seen
distance at which they can be read, the record will be /0 (/10 of normal)
Test the second eye, the first being covered with the card
tl
ult.
With the second eye, have the child read the letters from right to left to
as before,
