Updated 4/28/2026
As handwriting disappears from many school curricula due to increased focus on Math and English Language Arts, educators and researchers continue to highlight its critical value. Studies show that handwriting—especially cursive—supports fine motor skills, cognitive development, memory retention, academic confidence, and learning outcomes. From improving comprehension and recall to helping students with Dyslexia and ADD/ADHD, handwriting offers benefits that typing alone cannot replicate. This article explores why handwriting still matters and why some states are restoring cursive instruction in schools.
FINE MOTOR SKILLS
Handwriting takes printing to the next level and really challenges the student to think about what they are doing. In a Psychology Today article, Dr. Klemm states that the thinking level is magnified in cursive because the specific hand-eye coordination requirements are different for every letter in the alphabet. He points out that with handwriting, the movements are continuously different, which is much more mentally demanding than making single strokes, as in printing A, E, F, H, and so on. Making those unique strokes improves dexterity and fine motor skills.
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
Handwriting = Brainpower. Typing and printing don’t offer the same benefits as cursive writing. Learning to write in cursive is an important tool for cognitive development. Cursive writing actually trains the brain to use different parts of the brain for different functions, which helps with work efficiency. When a child learns to read and write in cursive through consistent practice and repetition, they must use fine motor skills with visual and tactile processing abilities. The physical touch of the pen to the paper combined with the repetitive process improves both the cognitive function and development.
MEMORY AND LEARNING
Q: Two 5th grade students are listening to a history lesson and taking notes. The first student is taking handwritten notes and the other student is typing their notes. Which student will retain more of the lesson?
A: If you guessed the first student taking handwritten notes will have a better memory of the lesson, you are correct.
An article from PBS.org states that when we have the physical experience of using our hands, there is an increased opportunity for learning and memory.
Handwriting notes rather than typing them aids in comprehension and recall. In a recent study entitled “The Pen is Mightier than the Keyboard,” researchers Pam Mueller and Daniel Oppenheimer found that students who take notes by hand perform better on conceptual questions than students who take notes on laptops. What they found was astounding. Students who took notes by hand actually comprehended the information and were able to put it in their own words—which requires both an understanding of the material and recall. Students who typed their notes on their laptops had a much more shallow interpretation of the lesson.
TREATING DYSLEXIA & OTHER DISABILITIES
Nearly 1 in 5 students has a learning disability and the most common learning disability is Dyslexia. There are recent studies that show that handwriting can help students with Dyslexia. Dyslexia is caused by a functional disconnection in communication between the auditory and language centers of the brain, and when you practice handwriting you are joining together both the auditor and language centers. So it is easy to see how handwriting can improve these communication deficits.
30% of children with Dyslexia also have at least a mild form of AD/HD and handwriting can help those suffering with ADD. Handwriting can also help those students suffering from ADD or AD/HD. One mother says, “Our son has learning disabilities, including ADD. Teaching him cursive at a young age proved to be a successful intervention for him because his pen and his thought did not stop moving and “get lost” in the space between letters. Cursive writing definitely improved his concentration and attention.”
ACADEMIC IMPROVEMENT AND CONFIDENCE
There is a direct correlation between good handwriting and improved academic performance. When students write confidently and legibly, their academics showed improvement.
At Blackshear Elementary School, a Texas school used handwriting to help its failing academic program. The teachers noted that excellent handwriting was a goal that all of the students could achieve.
And, for students who are struggling, success in one area can lead to greater academic potential. Dr. Klemm observed, “As a child learns to master academic challenges, self-confidence emerges and provides a drive to learn more because the child knows that achievement is possible. Learning cursive is an easy way for a child to discover important tactics for learning as well as the emotional benefit of being able to master a task.”
The benefits that handwriting offers today’s student are countless. With practice, handwriting provides more confidence, better dexterity, improved recall, and memory; and it can even help those students suffering from disabilities like ADD and Dyslexia. Here at Amsterdam Printing, although both are necessary, we believe that the pen is mightier than the keyboard.
SOURCES:
FAQs: The Benefits of Handwriting in Education
1. Why is handwriting being removed from school curricula?
With Common Core standards emphasizing Math and ELA, schools have reduced time for subjects not directly tested, leading to handwriting being cut from many programs.
2. How does handwriting benefit fine motor skills?
Handwriting requires complex hand‑eye coordination and varied movements for each letter, which improves dexterity, control, and fine motor development more than typing or simple printing.
3. Does handwriting improve learning and memory?
Yes. Research shows students who take handwritten notes retain information better and demonstrate deeper understanding than students who type their notes.
4. Can handwriting help students with learning disabilities?
Handwriting has been shown to support students with Dyslexia, ADD, and ADHD by strengthening connections between motor, auditory, and language processing areas of the brain.
5. Why are some states bringing cursive back into education?
States like California, Tennessee, and Louisiana have reinstated cursive instruction because of its proven benefits for cognitive development, academic performance, and student confidence.