Skip to Content

The Importance of Handwriting

Handwriting fluency is fundamental to learning because children think and write at the same time. When we teach children to write, we also teach them how to express themselves. If they struggle to form their letters, their ability to express themselves will suffer. Children who don't master handwriting may be slow, sloppy, or illegible writers. Spelling and math are also affected.

Learn how to close the achievement gap and join the initiative to promote handwriting as a Common Core State Standard!

News

rssRSS

In June 2009, the National Governors Association for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) announced a joint project called the Common Core State Standards Initiative, whose goal is to create a "common core" of education standards for English language arts and mathematics in grades K-12.

As of September 2009, 48 states and 3 territories have signed on to participate in the Common Core State Standards Initiative.

  • March 10, 2010 NGA Center, CCSSO release first public draft of K-12 ELA and Mathematics Common Core State Standards, public comment invited
  • October 29, 2009 The New York Times, "Federal Researchers Find Lower Standards in Schools"
  • October 8, 2009 Education Week "'Common Core' Standards Earn a B From Think Tank"
  • September 24, 2009 Common Core State Standards Validation Committee Announced; group will validate high school exit standards, after which time work on the K-12 standards will begin
  • September 21, 2009 The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) released the first official draft of their college- and career-readiness standards. Public feedback on the draft was accepted through October 21, 2009.
  • September 17, 2009 Education Week, "Texas Aligns High School, Entry-Level College Standards"
  • June 1, 2009 Forty-Nine States and Territories Join Common Core Standards Initiative

Research

  • Children with poor handwriting skills will also have difficulty in other academic areas. Recent research implies that handwriting is critical to the production of creative and well-written text (Graham and Harris, 2005).

  • Experts claim that illegible handwriting has Read More»

Poll

I believe Handwriting should be included as a state Common Core Standard