The Impact of Video Games on Middle School Students’ Math Performance

Introduction 

Video games are popular among young students. The debate on the impact of video games on school performance has been ongoing for years (Lau, Stewart, Sarmiento, Saklofske, & Tremblay, 2018)., While some games have been criticizes for deviating the attention from academic content, others have been praised for being educative. This study aims at examining the impact of video games on students’ performance in mathematics. The idea behind this study is to explore the specific types of videogames and show how they affect the performance of elementary students. 

The current trend at which young children spend most of their free time playing games is worrying (Navaneetham & Chandran, 2018) . According to Choo, Sim, Liau, Gentile, and Khoo (2015), schools have no control of their students once they leave school as the parents take over. Therefore, it becomes difficult for teachers to monitor and direct their students towards academic and educative content. Therefore, it is important to examine the specific types of games that are popular among students. This is due to the fact that videogames change rapidly with time. Most importantly, determining the impact of specific types of games on math performance can equip both teachers and parents with crucial knowledge that they can use to direct students toward educative videogames. This study aims at providing school-specific evidence that quantify the impact of videogames on students’ performance. 

Research question: What is the impact of videogames on mathematics performance among middle school students? 

Hypothesis: Spending more hours playing videogames leads to lower math score among middle school students 

2. Data Collection 

Proposed 

The collection of data was a critical step in this study. As part of the study, the researcher focused on YYY Elementary School in XXX School District, ZZ State. A sample of 60 students will be used to represent the population of students in the school: 30 students were males while the remaining 30 students were females. A quantitative research method will be used in this study. The thought is to generate quantifiable data for testing the hypothesis. Also, a cross-sectional research approach will be used by including equal number of students from three different grades (5, 6, 7, and 8). As part of the proposal, 15 students will be targeted from each of the four grades. However, this figure will adjust in case the number of volunteers is not reached. The design is important in ensuring adequate representation of each grade. 

The collection of data will be based on voluntary participation and parental consent. Since the participants will be minors, the researcher will work closely with teachers to gain parental consent once the students agreed to participate. A stratified random sampling technique will be applied as part of data collection procedure. The idea was to close the survey once the targeted number of students for each grade was reached. A questionnaire will be used to collect the much-needed data from each of the participants. The questionnaire is divided into two sections. The first section collected demographic information such as age, gender, and grade. The second section focused on close-ended questions, which collected participants’ gaming habits and math score. 

Actual Data Collection 

The collection of data went as planned thanks to the willingness of the school administration, parents, and teachers to cooperate. However, the targeted sample size was not reached. Therefore, the sample size was adjusted to 48 to ensure that each of the grades is represented by 12 students. Also, it was impossible to access the math score for the specific students as initially planned. Since the score was the dependent variable in this study, the researcher had to rely on self-reported data. This was achieved by asking the students to report the last score in terms of percentage they attained in mathematics. 

Survey Questions and Data Sheet 

Survey Question 

Please indicate your gender 

Male [ ] 

Female [ ] 

Indicate your grade 

Grade 5 [ ] 

Grade 6 [ ] 

Grade 7 [ ] 

Grade 8 [ ] 

Please answer the following questions. Tick using your pen or pencil depending on your honest opinion about mathematics. In case you have any question you are free to ask for help. 

	This is not at all true of me	This is a little bit true about me	This is very true of me
Math is my favorite subject
Math is enjoyable
I like spending my free time solving math problems
Math is important throughout my life

How often do usually play video games? 

Daily [ ] 

Thrice a week [ ] 

Twice a week [ ] 

Weekly [ ] 

Monthly [ ] 

I don’t play video games [ ] 

I often spend time playing video games rather than outdoor games 

Strongly disagree [ ] 

Disagree [ ] 

Neutral [ ] 

Agree [ ] 

Strongly agree [ ] 

I have made a lot of friends through gaming 

Strongly disagree [ ] 

Disagree [ ] 

Neutral [ ] 

Agree [ ] 

Strongly agree [ ] 

What was your last score (in terms of percentage) did you get in math? 

Data Sheet 

ID	Gender	Grade	3A	3B	3C	3D	Question 4	Question 5	Question 6	Math Score (%)
1	1	5	2	2	2	1	1	5	4	68
2	2	5	1	1	1	1	3	2	2	80
3	1	5	1	1	2	1	3	2	2	72
4	1	5	1	1	2	1	3	1	2	78
5	1	5	2	2	3	2	2	4	5	71
6	1	5	2	2	3	2	2	4	5	63
7	2	5	1	1	2	1	3	3	4	68
8	1	5	2	2	3	2	2	5	5	62
9	2	5	2	2	3	2	4	2	2	78
10	1	5	2	2	2	2	1	5	4	70
11	1	5	1	1	3	2	1	5	5	82
12	1	5	1	1	3	2	1	4	5	65
13	2	6	2	3	3	2	3	2	2	74
14	2	6	2	3	3	2	4	1	1	83
15	2	6	3	3	3	2	5	1	2	77
16	1	6	3	3	3	2	2	4	4	64
17	1	6	3	3	3	2	2	4	5	66
18	2	6	2	2	2	1	6	5	4	69
19	1	6	2	2	2	1	2	4	5	63
20	2	6	1	1	2	1	4	2	2	73
21	2	6	1	1	2	1	4	2	2	79
22	1	6	2	3	3	2	2	2	2	75
23	1	6	2	2	3	2	2	2	2	76
24	2	6	3	2	3	2	5	1	2	79
25	2	7	3	3	3	2	4	1	1	81
26	2	7	3	3	3	2	6	1	2	69
27	1	7	1	1	2	1	2	2	2	62
28	1	7	2	2	2	2	1	4	5	64
29	2	7	2	2	2	2	1	4	5	75
30	1	7	1	2	3	2	1	5	5	72
31	1	7	2	3	3	2	2	2	2	67
32	2	7	2	3	3	2	5	1	2	74
33	2	7	1	1	2	1	4	2	2	68
34	1	7	1	1	1	1	6	1	2	67
35	2	7	1	1	1	1	3	2	2	79
36	1	7	1	1	2	1	2	4	4	72
37	2	8	3	2	2	1	6	1	1	76
38	1	8	2	2	3	1	6	2	2	71
39	1	8	2	3	3	2	5	1	1	69
40	2	8	3	3	3	2	3	2	2	82
41	2	8	2	2	3	2	2	4	4	66
42	1	8	1	1	2	1	4	5	5	61
43	2	8	2	2	2	1	2	5	5	63
44	1	8	1	1	2	1	2	4	4	59
45	2	8	1	1	2	1	5	1	1	78
46	2	8	1	1	2	1	4	2	2	76
47	1	8	2	3	3	2	3	2	3	60
48	1	8	2	2	3	2	2	5	5	78

Graphical Representation 

As Table 1 shows, 54.2% (n=48) of the respondents were males while the remaining 45.8% were females. Figure 1 illustrates the difference between the two genders. 

Table 1: Gender
		Frequency	Percentage	Valid Percentage	Cumulative Percentage
Valid	Male	26	54.2	54.2	54.2
	Female	22	45.8	45.8	100.0
	Total	48	100.0	100.0

Figure 1: The participants by gender 

A significant number of students (37.5%) admitted that math is not their favorite subject. Interestingly, 45.8% of them said that they moderately consider math as their favorite subject. 

Table 2: Math is my favourite subject
		Frequency	Percentage	Valid Percentage	Cumulative Percentage
Valid	This is not at all true of me	18	37.5	37.5	37.5
	This is a little bit true about me	22	45.8	45.8	83.3
	This is very true of me	8	16.7	16.7	100.0
	Total	48	100.0	100.0

Figure 2 : Math is my favourite subject 

As Table 3 shows, 89.6% of the respondents play video games. However, the frequencies in which they play video games differ significantly. For example, 62.5% of them play twice a week while 45.8% of them play thrice a week. Figure 3 provides a clear indication on the frequencies. 

Table 3: How often do usually play video games?
		Frequency	Percentage	Valid Percentage	Cumulative Percentage
Valid	Daily	7	14.6	14.6	14.6
	Thrice a week	15	31.3	31.3	45.8
	Twice a week	8	16.7	16.7	62.5
	Weekly	8	16.7	16.7	79.2
	Monthly	5	10.4	10.4	89.6
	I don't usually play video games	5	10.4	10.4	100.0
	Total	48	100.0	100.0

Figure 3: The frequencies of playing video games 

Cumulatively, 56.3% of the respondents either disagree or strongly disagree with the statement that they usually prefer playing video games rather than outdoor games. The finding is well visualized in Figure 4, which demonstrates that a rather smaller proportion prefer video games than outdoor games. 

Table 4: I often spend time playing video games rather than outdoor games
		Frequency	Percentage	Valid Percentage	Cumulative Percentage
Valid	Strongly disagree	11	22.9	22.9	22.9
	Disagree	16	33.3	33.3	56.3
	Neutral	1	2.1	2.1	58.3
	Agree	11	22.9	22.9	81.3
	Strongly agree	9	18.8	18.8	100.0
	Total	48	100.0	100.0

Figure 4: Video games versus outdoor games 

A significant number of the respondents admitted not making a lot of friends through gaming (Table 5). Figure 5 shows this outcome which is significantly larger than those who made a lot of friends. 

Table 5: I have made a lot of friends through gaming
		Frequency	Percentage	Valid Percentage	Cumulative Percentage
Valid	Strongly disagree	5	10.4	10.4	10.4
	Disagree	21	43.8	43.8	54.2
	Neutral	1	2.1	2.1	56.3
	Agree	8	16.7	16.7	72.9
	Strongly agree	13	27.1	27.1	100.0
	Total	48	100.0	100.0

As Table 6 shows, the mean math score differed by gender. Female students performed better that their male counterparts at 74.9% and 68.4% respectively. Figure 6 demonstrates the difference by showing how female average score was significantly higher. 

Table 6: What was your last score (in terms of percentage) did you get in math? * Gender
Gender	Mean	N	Std. Deviation
Male	68.35	26	6.132
Female	74.86	22	5.549
Total	71.33	48	6.673

The views of the respondents differed by gender. For example, the mean for male participants is lower (2.38) than their female classmates (3.91) regarding how often they play video games. Low mean score show a higher frequency of paying video games. On the same note, more males (mean of 3.38) than females (mean of 2.14) agreed with the statement that they spend more time playing video games than playing outdoors. Similarly, more males (3.65) than females (2.36) have made a lot of friends through gaming. 

Table 7: How often do usually play video games? I often spend time playing video games rather than outdoor games I have made a lot of friends through gaming * Gender
Gender		How often do usually play video games?	I often spend time playing video games rather than outdoor games	I have made a lot of friends through gaming
Male	Mean	2.38	3.38	3.65
	N	26	26	26
	Std. Deviation	1.416	1.444	1.413
Female	Mean	3.91	2.14	2.36
	N	22	22	22
	Std. Deviation	1.342	1.283	1.217
Total	Mean	3.08	2.81	3.06
	N	48	48	48
	Std. Deviation	1.569	1.497	1.465

Grade is another independent variable worth investigating. As Figure 7 shows, there is no apparent pattern regarding the gaming habit by grade. 

Table 8: How often do usually play video games? I often spend time playing video games rather than outdoor games I have made a lot of friends through gaming * Grade
Grade		How often do usually play video games?	I often spend time playing video games rather than outdoor games	I have made a lot of friends through gaming
Grade 5	Mean	2.17	3.50	3.75
	N	12	12	12
	Std. Deviation	1.030	1.446	1.357
Grade 6	Mean	3.42	2.50	2.75
	N	12	12	12
	Std. Deviation	1.443	1.382	1.357
Grade 7	Mean	3.08	2.42	2.83
	N	12	12	12
	Std. Deviation	1.881	1.443	1.467
Grade 8	Mean	3.67	2.83	2.92
	N	12	12	12
	Std. Deviation	1.557	1.642	1.621
Total	Mean	3.08	2.81	3.06
	N	48	48	48
	Std. Deviation	1.569	1.497	1.465

IV. Analysis of Data 

The results provide crucial insights regarding gaming behaviors among middle school students. As introduced in chapter one, the hypothesis is “spending more hours playing videogames leads to lower math score among middle school students. Therefore, the dependent variable is the school performance while the independent variable is the gaming habit in terms of how often the students play virtually. Linear regression provided the much-needed platform for showing the effects of video gaming on math score. 

As Table 9 shows, the R square is .064, which means that 6.4% of the math scores is predicted by how often the students play video games. As Table 10 illustrates, the significance is 0.82 (p>0.05). Since the p value is more than 0.05, the hypothesis is rejected. This means that playing video games more often does not affect scores in math. Table 11 shows a beta value of .253 which shows an insignificant positive correlation between how often a student plays video games and his/her math score. 

Table 9: Model Summary
Model	R	R Square	Adjusted R Square	Std. Error of the Estimate
1	.253 a	.064	.044	6.525
a. Predictors: (Constant), How often do usually play video games?

Table 10: ANOVA a
Model		Sum of Squares	df	Mean Square	F	Sig.
1	Regression	134.367	1	134.367	3.156	.082 b
	Residual	1958.300	46	42.572
	Total	2092.667	47
a. Dependent Variable: What was your last score (in terms of percentage) did you get in math?
b. Predictors: (Constant), How often do usually play video games?

Table 11: Coefficients a
Model		Unstandardized Coefficients		Standardized Coefficients	t	Sig.
		B	Std. Error	Beta
1	(Constant)	68.010	2.094		32.474	.000
	How often do usually play video games?	1.078	.607	.253	1.777	.082
a. Dependent Variable: What was your last score (in terms of percentage) you got in math?

IV. Conclusion 

In summary, this study provides crucial insights regarding students’ gaming habit. Interestingly, playing video games regularly does not affect the performance of middle school students in mathematics. For example, their gaming habit predicts only 6.5% of their scores in math. However, this outcome may be influenced by a number of limitations. First, the students did not specify the specific games they play. This makes it difficult to differentiate between educative and non-educative games. Second, the study focused on how often the students they play rather than the number of hours. There is a possibility that some students play video games briefly while others spend more hours playing. Third, the math score is based on self-reported data. This gives room for bias that might have affected the accuracy of the outcome. Therefore, further research is required to address these limitations. Doing so will provide more accurate findings that teachers and parents can use to guide students on the best gaming habits. 

References 

Choo, H., Sim, T., Liau, A. K., F., Gentile, D. A., & Khoo, A. (2015). Parental influences on pathological symptoms of video-gaming among children and adolescents: A prospective study.  Journal of Child and Family Studies, 24 (5), 1429-1441 

Lau, C., Stewart, S. L., Sarmiento, C., Saklofske, D. H., & Tremblay, P. F. (2018). Who is at risk for problematic video gaming? risk factors in problematic video gaming in clinically referred canadian children and adolescents.  Multimodal Technologies and Interaction, 2 (2) doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/mti2020019 

Navaneetham, J., & Chandran, J. (2018). Video game use among schoolchildren and its impact on the study habits.  Indian Journal of Social Psychiatry, 34 (3), 208-212