Please send this to the asshat test-pushing administrators in your school system. Tell them we can improve children's ability to learn for less than $100 per class room.
http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/nurtureshock/archive/2009/12/10/new-research-13-christmas-gifts-13-point-gain-in-kids-iq.aspx?print=trueEach group’s improvements were domain-specific, so it was clear the games were the cause. The speed group saw only insignificant gains in reasoning ability. Those who trained on the reasoning games (and improved their reasoning) saw almost no speed benefit. Neither group saw improvement in working memory. This also suggests that cross-training is necessary for full-scale intelligence.
snip
....cost of these games, which average only $13 (and Brickbuster
can be played online for free):
Deck of Cards $1.25
Blink $5
Azada $7
SET $10
Perfection $12
Chocolate Fix $12
Rush Hour $18
Qwirkle $19
Big Brain Academy $26
Picross $20