Abstract
The study compares the standardized test performance of “chess kids” versus their peers. The comparison of score gains to non-chess peers (same grade and same academic percentile) attempts to eliminate the chicken-and-egg issue that often muddles this topic, that is, does chess make kids smarter or do smart kids simply prefer chess. The data indeed confirm that chess players are generally of higher academic standing (chess kids are smart), but more importantly it statistically shows that learning chess increases a student’s academic performance (chess makes them smarter). The evaluation then digs deeper, by comparing kids who have learned perhaps a little chess (coming to chess club only) versus those that are more serious and play in U.S. Chess Federation (USCF)-rated tournaments. A variety of comparisons are made which show that the benefits of chess are strongly tied to “learning” the game; the more you learn, the more you benefit. Kids who come only to chess club receive a small (5%-10%) benefit in Math, whereas kids who play in rated tournaments gain substantially in Math (30%-50%) and significantly in Reading (10%-20%). The benefits also continue to grow as kids play more tournaments and/or increase their USCF chess rating.
Highlights
When the question is posed “does chess makes kids smarter,” it is often hampered by a serious chicken-and-egg dilemma— does chess makes kids smart or do smart kids play chess? kids who enjoy chess are probably more likely to be naturally “smart”
The standardized test scores used are New Mexico Standards Based Assessments (SBA) Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) scores; the MAP tests are generated by the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA)
The numerical results of this study clearly indicate that kids who played in U.S. Chess Federation (USCF)-rated chess tournaments saw substantial improvements in their Math test scores and a modest improvement in Reading scores
Summary
The basic approach of this observational study is to measure the increase in a chess student’s standardized test scores as. Several of these options were evaluated, yet they all create the same outcome—there is a strong correlation between the number of USCF tournaments played and the increase in Math test scores. Note that there are only 46 data points in the first-time group, whereas it can be seen from Table 1 that 75 kids played in USCF tournaments with at least two MAP scores This difference is based on kids who played in a rated tournament before their first MAP test, some of them played prekindergarten, but most of the difference is because MAP testing was not always given to kindergarten or first grade.
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