In October of last year, educational evaluation service the Persephone Group conducted an independent assessment of some of the Our Courts games, including Do I Have a Right?. Researchers looked at over 500 students in 22 classrooms spanning 13 states. What they found via pre- and post-testing, as well as feedback from students and teachers, was a marked improvement in kids' civics knowledge.
The student statistics are irrefutably awesome:
- Students playing DIHAR? improved 13.7% between pre- and post-test scores
- Scores of students who played the game at least twice improved 18.3% from pre- to post-test
- Students with little computer experience actually showed greater improvement upon playing the games than students who customarily used a computer for more than an hour every day
- 84% of students answered that the games were engaging and fun
- 86% of students said they'd rather learn from a game than a textboox, with 85% specifically noting they'd like to play further Our Courts games in school
- 75% of the students who played DIHAR? said they'd recommend the game to a friend
- 57% of the students surveyed went on to play DIHAR? again at home after playing the game in class
Teachers were enthused about the Our Courts content, too: all of the surveyed educators said they would use the games and lesson plans as part of their instruction, 96% said the Our Courts lesson plans were aligned with their respective state and/or district standards, and 81% said they'd be recommending Our Courts games to colleagues and peers.
Said one 8th grade Social Studies teacher: "Do I Have a Right? reinforced students' knowledge of the amendments and put a real world spin on them. To a student, they absolutely loved playing, and from my perspective, seeing them jump out of their seats as they matched a problem with a lawyer and scream out the amendment by name...wow!"
