Abstract
The purpose of this pilot study was to measure handwriting skill development of first-grade students who participated in either the standard writing curriculum and Handwriting Without Tears® curriculum or only the standard curriculum. A two-group, non-randomized controlled trial using a pretest/posttest design was implemented at an inner city charter school. Forty-three participants were evaluated utilizing The Print Tool
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at the beginning and the end of the intervention period. Both groups demonstrated improved Print Tool
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overall scores; the treatment group demonstrated a large treatment effect (d = 1.07), and the control group demonstrated a medium treatment effect (d = .66). This study provides preliminary evidence supporting the effectiveness of implementing the Handwriting Without Tears® curriculum within first-grade classrooms.