Does Cursive Writing Improve Learning?

Why Don’t Kids Write in Cursive Anymore — And Why It Matters More Than You Think

You may read Rick Radatovich's Original Article here as published in the Coastal Point.

38th District Report Article Summary

Most kids today can’t sign their names to a legal document. They can print them, slowly, letter by letter, but sign their own name in cursive? Gone.

This might sound like a quaint, old-fashioned concern, but it’s not. The real issue isn’t nostalgia, and it isn’t that students won’t be able to read historical documents anymore (they won't). The real issue is that when children don’t learn cursive, their ability to read, and comprehend, suffers.

Who Knew Cursive Writing Improves Reading Comprehension

Neuroscience studies show that cursive handwriting strengthens the brain’s reading circuitry in ways printing and typing do not. The continuous, connected motion of cursive activates sequencing, motor planning, spelling, and memory, the very skills required for strong reading comprehension, not just word recognition.

Students taught cursive consistently:

• Read faster and with better understanding

• Spell more accurately

• Reverse letters less often

• Retain more of what they learn

• Write more complex thoughts

  
  

In other words, cursive isn’t about penmanship: It’s about literacy!

This matters because Delaware is in a reading crisis. According to the Nation’s Report Card, only about one in four Delaware students reads at grade level, and actual reading comprehension may be much worse! Despite years of new reading programs, Chromebooks, tablets and now a push toward AI and Virtual Reality learning, improving reading and writing results have barely moved.

Cursive Writing is Already Delaware State Law

Here’s the part almost no one mentions: cursive instruction is already state law.

In 2021, Delaware passed House Bill 70 requiring cursive handwriting instruction by the end of fourth grade. But the law has no enforcement, no required instructional time, no teacher training, and no accountability.

Meanwhile, states that actually implemented cursive instruction saw meaningful gains in reading performance. Connecticut never abandoned handwriting and ranks near the top nationally. Maybe the solution isn’t another shiny initiative. Maybe it’s getting back to basics.

After all, writing is one of the three R’s: reading, writing, and arithmetic. WRITING. Not printing.

-Rick Radatovich, a former VP at BIC, will present his findings to the Indian River School District Board at Monday’s meeting. It’s worth listening, because sometimes progress looks less like new technology and more like remembering what already works.

Indian River School Board meetings are open to the public and take place on the fourth Monday of each month at 7 p.m. at Millsboro Middle School. However, this month's meeting will be held on Monday, December 15, due to the Christmas holiday.

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