Washington College in Maryland became the butt of the joke on late night TV last month after it changed its logo鈥擥eorge Washington鈥檚 cursive signature鈥攂ecause it was 鈥渄ifficult to read and not immediately recognizable for many prospective students,鈥� according to a news release from the small liberal arts college. The move also reignited the question of whether K-12 schools should teach cursive.
The gap in cursive education has been a source of debate in state legislatures across the country in recent years, with some researchers and historians advocating for its return. Researchers say that handwriting is linked to academic success, even if keyboards and texting have become the primary way to write and communicate. Historians worry about what is lost if people can鈥檛 discern primary texts, which are largely handwritten.
The push and pull of teaching cursive and penmanship has been ongoing since the mid-2010s, after most states adopted the Common Core State Standards, which did not expressly mention cursive but did emphasize keyboarding. Since then, though, there鈥檚 been a resurgence of cursive and handwriting education.
Less than 10 years ago, only 14 states required schools to teach cursive鈥�but that number has been steadily increasing, with 24 now having some kind of requirement.
This year, to legislate the matter, with children expected to be proficient by grade 5 under a measure set to take effect next school year. Iowa鈥檚 education department also this year, with students expected to be able to form all cursive letters 鈥渆fficiently and proportionately鈥� by 3rd grade.
Here is a map of the , along with details on the grades where it is taught.
