TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WIAT) - Cursive handwriting could be a dying art form.  Many states across the country have completely cut cursive handwriting from their lesson plans.  Local third grade teachers like Denise Clark understand how some teachers would be tempted to eliminate the writing skill. 

"You're not testing on it," she says, "And when you are trying to get in that time for math or spelling, something's got to budge." 

Cursive is still part of Alabama's state curriculum, although many schools don't have time set aside for the course.  In the Tucaloosa City School system, cursive becomes an important focus in the second semester of the 3rd grade.  At that point, students are expected to turn in a majority of their work in cursive, which is embedded into their writing, spelling, and vocabulary block.

Although there may not be an AYP benchmark for legible handwriting, local teachers say that's exactly what some children won't have if cursive was ever taken out of Alabama classrooms.  They suggest that the strength and fine motor skills students obtain by practicing in cursive also improves the child's print writing. 

Teachers also believe that many students make a better connection with the lesson when they are writing down the material instead of typing it on a computer.  Several theories for the absence of cursive in the classroom across the nation suggest that technology in schools is eliminating the need for handwriting skills.  With proration in Alabama, local teachers say it's important that children learn cursive writing to be able to write faster and keep up in class, since computers aren't always available.