Gaming + Education: more playtime = higher test scores

Legends of Learning: more playtime = higher test scores

Virtual world platforms, led by the gaming industry, are quickly becoming about far more than just entertainment. Specifically, gaming experiences are being leveraged in the educational process for students; and it is working. Today, digital learning is happening not only in the classroom but also at home or via remote learning. This medium and method of learning is finding its best results in fun and engaging experiences, led by the gaming industry.?

Today, test scores in the United States are declining despite education expenditures increasing over the past few decades. This is highly concerning to not only to parents but will likely have unfortunate lasting ramifications on society at large. To address this problem, new solutions have to be developed and implemented.?

Legends of Learning, a Konvoy portfolio company (here is our piece on why we invested), is actively building in this space and has seen the benefits of gaming in education first-hand. Today, kids all across the country use Legends of Learning in the classroom.

WestEd Study Shows Higher Test Scores for Students Playing Legends of Learning

WestEd, a national leader in research and development in the educational space, has just published an independent study focusing on fifth and eighth grade students’ science achievement levels relative to individual usage of the Legends of Learning science program.

The sample used in the study consisted of over 14,000 fifth- and eighth-grade students with diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, and the results were unambiguous: students who used Legends of Learning got significantly better scores on their end of year exam.

The magnitude of the performance boost is an impressive and shocking result, as many school districts are often skeptical of vendor claims regarding student improvement. Even more exciting was that this effect was dose dependent, meaning those who used Legends more got higher scores (see below):

Here are the highlights of the study:

• Results indicated that there were significant and educationally-meaningful differences in the mean science achievement of students with moderate and high usage of the Legends of Learning science program in the 2020-2021 school year compared to students who did not use the program.
• Students classified as No Usage and Low Usage had a mean science achievement score in the 45th and 49th percentile, respectively.
• Students classified as Moderate Usage and High Usage had a mean science achievement score in the 58th and 68th percentile, respectively.?

The major takeaway from this study is that games (specifically the platform of Legends of Learning) are a viable and proven method of learning for students. Allowing students to learn in a unique digital format (kids are spending an average 5 hours in front of a screen every day) will be more beneficial for their engagement and academic performance.

We are extremely excited to be working with a team like Legends of Learning that is? using games to innovate in areas that are often overlooked. Since 1971, education expenditures per pupil have increased 115%. Over that same time period, test scores (reading and math) have stayed almost flat.

Legends of Learning is showing that throwing money at the problem does not matter if the way students learn does not adapt with the times.?

Here at Konvoy, we are thrilled to be investors in their corner as they continue to build the Legends of Learning platform.

Thanks,

Josh

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