An analysis of the effectiveness of curriculum embedded handwriting instruction and its impact on student learning

Common Core Standards bring increased educational demands with focused expectations for the production of quality writing however explicit handwriting instruction has minimal presence in today's elementary school classrooms. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of handwriting instruction, using the Handwriting Without Tears handwriting curriculum, on student achievement. Performance on measures of handwriting legibility, written literacy, and basic literacy skills were compared between two groups; students receiving Handwriting Without Tears curriculum instruction and those who were receiving typical classroom instruction. Participants included a total of 789 Kindergarten and First-grade students from two Central Valley school districts in California. Analysis indicated significant differences between the two groups for handwriting legibility and Written Literacy. Students who received instruction using the Handwriting Without Tears curriculum demonstrated significantly higher performance on specific elements of written literacy as compared to those students who did not receive Handwriting Without Tears curriculum instruction. These findings support the use of specific handwriting instruction for promoting student achievement with written production and written literacy. Implications of these findings for instructional practices and the development of written literacy as related to academic achievement are addressed.