2012 Summit

Handwriting in the 21st Century?

An Educational Summit.

On January 23, 2012, researchers and education thought leaders convened in Washington D.C. at an educational summit to discuss research and opinions regarding the role of handwriting instruction in the 21st-century classroom.

The summit was partly inspired by the release of the Common Core State Standards, which essentially eliminated handwriting as required instruction. During the Summit, attendees overwhelmingly agreed that both handwriting and keyboarding skills are necessary for students’ 21st-century success.

Following the Summit, the HW21 Community created a set of proposed new K–8 Written Language Production Standards for keyboarding and handwriting, to assist education decision makers looking to standardize keyboarding and handwriting expectations in their school, district, or state.

In July of 2014, additional PreKindergarten standards were drafted in response to increasing demand for better Kindergarten readiness.

After careful consideration of the valuable input received, the proposed PreKindergarten Written Language Production Standards were updated and added to the existing Kindergarten–Grade 8 standards, resulting in the combined PreK–8 Written Language Production Standards.

Educators are encouraged to refer to the proposed PreK–8 Written Language Production Standards for support in incorporating handwriting and keyboarding into the curriculum.