Dinehart, an assistant professor at the Florida International University School of Education, was examining data collected on 1,000 second-graders and comparing it with information collected when they were in pre-kindergarten. She and her research team expected to find that early number skills might predict math achievement and that early language skills might predict who would be better readers in second grade. But they were surprised to find that a 4-year-old’s fine motor writing skill - the ability to form letters, numbers and shapes - was an indicator of stronger academic achievement later on.
What’s just as surprising, says Dinehart, is that the academic achievement by those with better penmanship is seen in both reading and math, and it’s reflected in both teachers’ grades and standardized test scores. Students who received good handwriting grades in pre-K had an overall “B” average in second grade. Their standardized tests scored above average in both math and reading. By contrast, pre-kindergarten students who did poorly on fine motor writing tasks had an overall “C” average and below-average test scores in second grade.
Tss. Couple things: 1- All the gifted children I know have TERRIBLE handwriting. This is because the ideas tumble out of our brains too fast. 2- Kids who are careful about handwriting will be careful about other things too. This will be rewarded by the educational system. Doesn’t mean we should encourage it. To the contrary.
PS: Florida International University School of Education? Is that a real thing?
(via ayjay)
