Handwriting in GCSEs ‘is illegible’
PUPILS’ handwriting is so poor that teachers are calling for greater use of word processors, or even people they can dictate to, for GCSE exams.
Some of this year’s papers were so poorly written they were impossible to read, according to a report by examination board Edexcel. The authors looked at papers in subjects including English and drama.
They said pupils who struggle to write 10 words a minute should be able to dictate their answers to a scribe. But critics attacked the plan and said pupils should be taught to write properly instead.
Nick Seaton, of the Campaign for Real Education, said: “It seems obvious that instead of using more scribes and accepting this situation, there should be less use of computers and a greater emphasis put on basic handwriting.
“If exams are going to have any validity then youngsters must be able to write at a decent speed.” The number of times pupils have arranged to use a scribe in a GCSE or A-level exam rose from 28,324 in 2005 to 40,215 last year.
Occasions when they have used word processors have also risen during the same period from 14,222 to 21,713.
Suzanne Tiburtius, of the National Handwriting Association, said children’s handwriting had become “immeasurably worse” in recent years.
Fewer than half all teachers had received any instructions on handwriting, she said.
