Could the humble pen be making a comeback in Australian classrooms? NSW wants students to put down their keyboards and return to handwritten writing tests.
After years of moving education online, the NSW Government is pushing to bring pen-and-paper writing assessments back to NAPLAN for students in Years 5, 7 and 9 from 2028.
Currently, only Year 3 students complete their NAPLAN writing tests by hand. Older students use computers.
The proposal follows concerns about declining writing skills among Australian students, with education experts arguing that handwriting plays an important role in learning, memory and literacy development.
Have We Become Too Dependent on Keyboards?
Computers have transformed classrooms, but researchers are questioning whether typing should replace handwriting, particularly for younger students.
Edith Cowan University Associate Professor Anabela Malpique has highlighted the importance of handwriting for learning and memory, while University of Sydney researcher Marian Vidal-Fernandez has questioned whether students should be assessed on computers when much of their classroom writing is still completed by hand.
The message is not that technology is bad. It’s that children need to learn to write confidently with both a pen and a keyboard.
A Win for the Art of Handwriting?
For World Letter Writing Day, the debate is a welcome reminder that handwriting still matters.
Writing by hand is more than an academic skill. It’s how we create personal letters, send postcards, record memories and share thoughts in a way that feels uniquely human.
In a world of instant messages, emails and AI-generated text, perhaps there is something worth protecting about putting pen to paper.
The proposed NAPLAN changes still require national agreement, but the conversation has already begun.
Maybe the future of writing isn’t entirely digital after all.
And you don’t need to wait until 2028 to rediscover handwriting.
Pick up a pen. Write a letter. Make someone’s day.
World Letter Writing Day is celebrated every year on 1 September, encouraging people everywhere to reconnect through handwritten letters.
Source: ABC News, reporting by Victoria Pengilley on the NSW Government’s proposal to return NAPLAN writing assessments to pen and paper.
Is Handwriting Making a Comeback? NSW Pushes to Bring Pen and Paper Back to NAPLAN
