Does joined handwriting really matter anymore? From a teacher who is judged on teaching it

Jack Watson

How to Become a Teacher

Apr 8, 2025

Does Joined Handwriting Really Matter Anymore? – A Summary for Educators

In his opinion piece, UK Year 6 teacher Jack Watson questions the relevance of joined (cursive) handwriting in modern education, particularly its role in high-stakes writing assessments. As part of writing moderation following national SATs, UK teachers are expected to assess students against over 20 writing criteria — including grammar, punctuation, complex features, and, most frustratingly for Watson, joined handwriting.

While legibility and neatness are essential, Watson argues that requiring joined handwriting as a gatekeeper for achieving the "expected standard" (EXS) is outdated and unfair.

Watson acknowledges that clear, readable writing is non-negotiable for assessment purposes. However, he takes issue with how joined handwriting is used as a metric of success. In current moderation guidelines, students who otherwise meet all writing standards can be denied the EXS classification if they do not demonstrate consistent joined handwriting—unless teachers can argue it's an isolated weakness. Since the number of students achieving EXS directly reflects on a teacher's performance, handwriting becomes a disproportionately weighted factor in a student’s and teacher’s success.

The issue, Watson points out, is that beyond Year 6, there is no statutory expectation for joined handwriting. Some schools may maintain a preference, but nationally, it plays no role in teacher evaluation or performance metrics beyond this year group. So why, he asks, should students be held to a standard that disappears as soon as they leave primary school?

From a pedagogical perspective, Watson draws on the work of Natalie Wexler and Judith Hochman (authors of The Writing Revolution) to highlight how excessive focus on handwriting style can create cognitive overload. Since writing is a biologically secondary skill—something humans are not naturally wired to do—students already exert significant mental effort in composing coherent content. Adding the pressure of monitoring their handwriting style can disrupt the writing process and diminish both fluency and enjoyment.

Watson also observes that many students write more legibly without joining letters and that forcing joined handwriting can actually reduce neatness. Furthermore, he contends that teaching fine motor skills — often used to justify cursive instruction — can be achieved through a variety of other, more engaging means.

To this end, he offers three practical alternatives for developing fine motor coordination:

1. Drawing: Encourages sustained pencil grip and creativity; allows for multitasking (e.g., doodling during read-alouds).

2. Origami and crafts: Hands-on activities like folding, sewing, or crocheting help build similar skills while offering enjoyment and variety.

3. Outdoor exploration: Nature-based play (e.g., climbing, building, handling small objects) promotes hand use in real-world contexts.

Watson concludes by proposing a shift in writing assessment criteria — from requiring joined handwriting to emphasizing consistency in letter height and spacing. This change would better reflect student writing ability without penalizing those who struggle with cursive and would refocus instruction on meaningful writing rather than outdated expectations. For teachers under pressure to meet rigid standards, this small but significant change could make a meaningful difference in both student engagement and assessment fairness.

Original Article

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Prepared with the assistance of AI software

OpenAI. (2025). ChatGPT (4) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com