Bridge isn’t just fun, it offers benefits to both students and schools.
Academic Enrichment: Studies show that learning bridge can improve a child’s ability to perform better on standardized testing. According to a study from Carlinville, Illinois, middle-school children who learned bridge had test scores on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills that were 10-35% higher on the various subtests than their non-bridge playing peers. Carlinville, Ill. test score study.
Mathematical: Read below
Social: Bridge offers the opportunity to meet, talk, and play in a safe, controlled environment. As a partnership game, bridge teaches communication skills, teamwork, cooperation and tolerance.
Reasoning and Logic: Bridge requires you to analyze information, make a plan, and then adjust that plan as more information is made available.
Competition: Bridge students can go on to participate in Youth Bridge competitions locally, regionally, and internationally, with opportunities to win paid trips and even scholarships for some players. Since no one makes a correct decision or play every time, the game teaches children sportsmanship: how to be good winners and good losers.
Fun for All: The game gives young people a chance to spend time with old friends and make new ones. These friendships may transcend age, geography, and social situations.
7 Reasons to Teach Your Kids Bridge, 2015 Huffington Post
For Students Raised on iPods, Lessons in Bridge, 2011 New York Times
Playing Bridge helps students score in math, 2004 NC Times
Views of 4th and 5th Grade Students taking Bridge Lessons, ACBL
Carlinville, Illinois Test Score Study
Overview
Dr. Christopher Shaw, a researcher from Carlinville, Ill., recently completed a study that shows that children who play bridge perform better on standardized tests than their non-bridge playing counterparts. The study utilized the The Iowa Test of Basic Skill (ITBS) which has five separate subject areas scored separately. This test structure and scoring scale allowed a comparison of the performance of five non-bridge groups of students to one test group of bridge playing students on all five subjects. The database tracked the scores over three years to see how much gain the two groups made.
The standardized testing schedule in the Carlinville schools has the kids taking the ITBS in September of 5th grade, April of 6th grade and April of 7th grade. Thus, the entire 5th grade in 2001-02 was tested before the bridge playing group learned how to play bridge. They were all tested 20 months later as 6th graders and again 32 months later as 7th graders. The standardized testing program used the same scoring scale for all three tests.
Initial Study Results
As you can see from the following graphs, the bridge-playing students in the initial study not only showed greater improvement after 20 months but also increased that advantage over the next 12 months.
Followup
Subsequently, Shaw expanded his study to three sequential classes of fifth graders (2001–2003) taught by the same instructor. The 2001 group was taught bridge, but the 2002 group was not. The 2003 group was also taught the game.
Shaw examined each group’s results on the ITSB over a three–year period. The first two tests were given 20 months apart; 32 months elapsed between the first and last test. Shaw compared the results in these tables:
20-Month Average Test Score Gains
| Reading | Math | Social Studies | Language | Science | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 (Bridge) | 21.47 | 25.20 | 21.99 | 18.03 | 40.27 |
| 2002 (Non-bridge) | 17.43 | 24.26 | 14.31 | 30.52 | 29.79 |
| 2003 (Bridge | 28.50 | 34.95 | 24.17 | 21.11 | 24.67 |
32-Month Average Test Score Gains
| Reading | Math | Social Studies | Language | Science | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 (Bridge) | 40.87 | 51.53 | 30.49 | 22.72 | 52.57 |
| 2002 (Non-bridge) | 23.37 | 36.42 | 25.15 | 30.05 | 36.05 |
| 2003 (Bridge | 39.72 | 45.67 | 32.50 | 37.17 | 45.11 |
The 2001 bridge students had higher test scores than the 2002 students at the end of 20 months and 32 months in four of the five subject areas. The language gain was less than the 2002 non-bridge students.
The 2003 bridge students out-gained the 2002 class in four of the five subject areas after 20 months (science scores were lower than the 2002 group), but exceeded the 2002 group in all areas after 32 months.
Mathematical Aspects of Bridge
Bridge instruction meets state standard learning expectations for subjects such as Mathematics and Language Arts. Additionally, bridge instruction is designed to meet the government mandated public school requirements of No Child Left Behind — Title V; specifically “Innovative Programs” and “Partnerships in Character Education.
Numbers & Operation
Students incorporate multiple evaluation methods to assess the value of their hand as well as their partner’s and how to weigh these values.
Data Analysis & Probability
Students confront situations in each hand (game) which require them to assess the probability of certain outcomes and make decisions accordingly.
Algebra
Players reason from the communication skills learned in the bidding aspect of the game, the value of their hand (a), plus the value of their partner’s hand (b), must equal a specific total (c). Therefore, decisions are then made to achieve their goal.
Problem Solving
Each hand (game) amounts to a set of problems that must be evaluated and re-evaluated in the span of a few minutes.
Reason & Proof
Based upon communication skills learned during the teaching process, students reason that they can achieve a stated goal (contract), which they set out to prove. flaws in the proof result in scoring adjustments.
Testimonials
“As a math teacher, I’m always looking for tricks to make teaching formulas easier. Ever since bridge instruction has been included as a part of curriculum enrichment, I’ve noticed my students coming up with their own tricks! Bridge and math are similar in that you have to plan, figure and strategize — and those are skills that can be utilized in other subjects, as well as life in general.”
– Cathelyn Quick, Math Teacher, Marlboro County Schools, SC
“I had a brilliant child in my class one year who had been accelerated. He was excellent at math, but was lacking in social skills. He joined our school bridge club and I saw his social skills develop rapidly. This helped him immensely when he entered high school.”
– Liz Figueroa, Gifted Teacher, McMillan Magnet in Omaha, NE
“The teachers’ reports noted improvements in attitude and math skills. I was so impressed that the children would come indoors to play, even on sunny days, that my wife and I joined an introductory bridge class.”
-Don Berry, Teacher
“I love how Bridge makes me think, and continually challenges me. I could play my whole life and still learn new things about the game. Learning to play at ten years was the perfect age because I had already developed some math and problem solving skills, then bridge just fine tuned them.”
– Angie Green, 15 yrs, Alpharetta High School, GA
“Learning to play bridge is fun. Bidding and counting points help me answer questions faster in math class.”
-Eddie Burgess, Middle School Student
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