{
  "id": 3752645,
  "title": "Abacus training is linked to better math and memory skills in elementary students",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/27/abacus-training-is-linked-to-better-math-and-memory-skills-in",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-08-27T14:00:54.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "PsyPost",
    "slug": "psypost",
    "url": "https://www.psypost.org/abacus-training-is-linked-to-better-math-and-memory-skills-in-elementary-student/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A recent study published in Learning and Individual Differences reveals that elementary students who learn abacus-based mental calculation tend to excel in math and memory skills compared to their peers. Led by Fan Liu and Xuelian Ge from Zhejiang University and the University of Texas at Austin, the research examined 441 children from grades one through five in Qiqihar, China. Half of the participants received two hours of abacus instruction weekly, while the control group engaged in standard math and reading exercises. The study found that abacus students outperformed the control group in overall arithmetic skills across all five grade levels, including first graders who had only three months of instruction at the time of testing. The abacus group also demonstrated superior performance in numerical processing tasks, such as connecting and comparing numbers. The researchers also assessed domain-general cognitive abilities, finding that abacus students exhibited enhanced short-term memory and attention, particularly in fourth and fifth graders. Statistical analysis suggested that enhanced numerical processing skills partially explained the math advantage for abacus students in grades two through five, while general cognitive skills like attention and memory acted as explanatory bridges only for older students.",
  "summary": "Elementary school students who learn to calculate using a mental abacus tend to perform better on math tests than their peers. A new study suggests this advantage is partly explained by enhanced numerical processing, attention, and memory.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}