ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Educ.
Sec. Assessment, Testing and Applied Measurement
This article is part of the Research TopicSerious Games, Robotics, and Digital-Therapeutics in Neurodevelopmental DisordersView all 3 articles
Effectiveness of a Gamified Educational Application on Attention and Academic Performance in Children with ADHD: An 8-Week Randomized Controlled Trial
Provisionally accepted
- School of Finance, Xinjiang University of Finance and Economics, Urumqi, China
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Gamified educational interventions have emerged as promising tools to improve attention and academic outcomes in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) remains limited, and the long-term maintenance of training effects is rarely examined. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a specifically designed gamified educational application compared with a non-gamified digital program matched for content and duration. Eighty children aged 6–12 years with clinically diagnosed ADHD and IQ scores between 95 and 105 were randomly assigned to an experimental (n = 40) or control group (n = 40). Both groups completed identical learning tasks (calculation, text comprehension, phonological exercises), but only the experimental group received immediate feedback, rewards, and level-based challenges. Baseline and post-intervention assessments included visual and auditory reaction time tests, a sustained attention task (CPT), and standardized academic tests in reading, writing, and mathematics. A follow-up assessment was scheduled 8 weeks after training. After 8 weeks, the experimental group showed significantly greater improvements than the control group in visual (−110 ms), auditory (−95 ms), and sustained attention (−120 ms) reaction times (all p < 0.01, Cohen's d = 0.70–0.85), as well as in reading (+20.0 points), writing (+15.4 points), and mathematics (+13.7 points). Training time was similar across groups. Follow-up assessments were conducted but are not presented here. These findings indicate that an 8-week gamified educational intervention can significantly enhance attention and academic performance in children with ADHD. Gamified applications may offer accessible, engaging tools for cognitive and educational improvement.
Keywords: Gamified educational tools, Attention span, academic performance, Children with ADHD, randomized controlled trial
Received: 17 Jul 2025; Accepted: 03 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Dai, Wufuer and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Hong Zhang
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