WWC Quick Review: Board Games and Numeracy Skills Study August 2008

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WWC Quick Review of the Article “Promoting Broad and Stable Improvements in Low-Income Children’s Numerical Knowledge Through Playing Number Board Games"¹

This study examined whether playing number board games improved numeracy skills of low-income preschoolers.

It included 136 preschool children from 10 urban Head Start centers. The children ranged in age from four to five-and-a-half years old.

Seventy-two children were randomly selected to play a number board game with a trained experimenter. The other 64 children played a different version of the game using colors instead of numbers.

Numeracy skills were assessed at the end of a two-week period and again nine weeks later.

Children who played the number game had better counting and number identification skills than children who played the color game. Children who played the number game were also better at picking the highest number from a pair of numbers and identifying positions on a number line.

The effects persisted nine weeks after the game sessions ended. Estimated effect sizes at that point ranged from 0.55 to 0.80. These effects did not differ by the age of the preschoolers.

WWC quick reviews are based on the evidence published in the report cited and rely on effect sizes and significance levels as reported by study authors. WWC does not confirm study authors’ findings or contact authors for additional information about the study. The WWC rating refers only to the results summarized above and not necessarily to all results presented in the study.