Handwriting runs off pages of time

WASHINGTON, Oct. 11 (UPI) -- Legible handwriting is dying a slow death in the United States and giving way to generations who are more comfortable typing, pointing and clicking.

An example of the demise of cursive writing was seen in the 2006 SAT college entrance exams that included a handwritten essay section. Of 1.5 million students who wrote the test, 15 percent used flowing handwriting, while the rest answered in block letters, The Washington Post reported.

In a curious twist, the College Board noted the essays written in cursive had slightly higher average scores than those written in print, the report said.

Springfield, Va., elementary teacher Debbie Mattocks teaches cursive once a week to her gifted-and-talented group of third-graders and acknowledges it's no longer a critical skill.

"I can't think of any other place you need cursive as an adult other than to sign your name," she told the Post.