C8 Sciences addresses the achievement gap with its inexpensive classroom solution

December 19, 2016 — NEW HAVEN, Conn. (12-19-16) — Today’s educators are facing the challenge of closing the wide achievement gap related to poverty among K-12 students. C8 Sciences, distributor of a sophisticated brain training program used to help students improve thinking skills, and thus academic performance, announces its findings that low-income students achieve significant improvements in math and reading scores when the ACTIVATE program is used in their classroom.
Grounded in neuroscience research developed at Yale University by Dr. Bruce Wexler, the ACTIVATE program improves critical thinking skills through computer and physical exercises. ACTIVATE is designed for use in K-12 classrooms to grow and track cognitive skills.

In a research study funded by the Roddenberry Foundation, Wexler and colleagues found that second-grade students who used the ACTIVATE program had significantly greater increases in school-administered math and reading achievement tests than did students in control classes. The increases in math scores were even greater than what is seen with one-on-one tutoring.

In a third grade class with 95 percent of the students receiving free or reduced lunch, 83 percent tested as proficient in reading after using ACTIVATE compared to only 58 percent in the rest of the school district. In a second grade class with 49 percent of the students receiving free or reduced lunch, 92 percent met proficiency in math after using ACTIVATE compared to only 63 percent in the rest of the school district.
“Fostering cognitive skills at an early age is critical for all students, but it is especially important for students who are at risk of falling behind their peers,” said Dr. Bruce Wexler, founder of C8 Sciences. “These results demonstrate that the ACTIVATE program can make a powerful impact in the academic achievement of low-income students, paving a brighter future for them.”

C8 Sciences’ research has found that cognitive executive function skills of focus, self-control, and memory predict math and reading achievement, as well as high school graduation rates.

For more information about the ACTIVATE program, please visit https://www.c8sciences.com/

About C8 Sciences
C8 Sciences provides the marketplace with ACTIVATE, a research-backed, game-based brain training program used to help students of all abilities improve critical thinking skills and enhance learning capabilities. Developed by Yale neuroscientists, ACTIVATE combines computer and physical exercises to strengthen the brain systems important for skills such as memory, attention, and self-control. To learn more about C8 Sciences and the ACTIVATE program, visit https://www.c8sciences.com.

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