LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A Little Rock elementary school is seeing an educational gambit pay off. After making chess part of the daily curriculum, the school has experienced higher test scores and better classroom behavior.
Every day at eStem East Village Elementary, there's a stalemate at pickup between parents waiting to go home and students holding on to their time as long as possible.
These fourth through sixth graders are focused, all on a quest for their subsequent capture. Teacher Melchisedek Robinson leads the Masterminds after starting the club last school year.
"It's become contagious around here," Robinson said. "In a world full of multimedia, we're looking for something to teach our children how to focus."
But at eStem, chess isn't just an after-school program. Students make their first move in the classroom as the game is rotated through their curriculum.
"This is one of the most innovative practices ever because once you put chess in the class, you put math into class, you put science in class," Robinson said. "You get that cross-curricular interplay in the game, so it's very revolutionary."
That difference shows up in student test scores.
In NWEA scores from this fall to winter:
- 48% of chess club students showed growth in reading
- 76% scored higher in math
Some previously struggling students moved up to meet grade-level benchmarks.
"I used to rush in my work," Fourth grader Spencer McAllister said. "Every time before we do chess, we meditate, and it always slows my thinking down."
In their own words, students said chess isn't just helping boost test scores—but also behavior.
"In general, it helps me with a lot of things," One student said. "It helps me think. It helps me be calm."
The club is now so popular that it has a waitlist, and students ask for chess boards at recess. To top it all off, they're bringing home tournament trophies.
"I've always hoped we would be where we are," Robinson said. "I couldn't have imagined this in my wildest dreams."
Robinsons is teaching these masterminds not just to think ahead, but also to focus on the end game.
"It's a great feeling for me because they're our future," Robinson said. "If we put this tool in their hands and teach them how to use it, our future is looking bright."