Stand at a distance of 20 feet, the standard distance for reading the signboard during an eye test. When you hear about someone having 20/20 vision, it means they are able to see all the characters that a person with normal eyesight can recognize at a distance of 20 feet. Remember that this number is a fraction. For example, someone with 20/40 vision can only see characters at 20 feet that other people can see at 40 feet.
Cover your right eye and read the characters in descending order while speaking them aloud. Recognize the characters as best you can. Do not try to make sense of what you see or you may fail the test. Alternate covering your right and left eye with each line to ensure that both of your eyes are functioning properly.
Identify all of the characters up to the distance to which you are standing. Beside every line of symbols, there should be a number. This number is the distance at which you should be standing. If you can read all the characters up to the 20-feet marker, you have regular eyesight. If you can read beyond the 20-feet marker, your eyesight is above average.
Move closer to the test and try again if you are unable to recognize the numbers at a distance of 20 feet. Move to 15 or 10 feet, if necessary. Read the signboard again. Once you are able to recognize the characters at the 20-feet marker, you can evaluate your eyesight. This means you are nearsighted and your doctor or optician can tell you the severity of your vision difficulty.