Aqueous cementitious slurries including predominantly Type I Portland cement containing an aluminate additive. The aluminate additive is an aluminate salt other than calcium aluminate or calcium sulfoaluminate, preferably sodium aluminate. Cementitious reactive powders of the slurry include the Type I Portland cement and 0.1-10 wt. % of the aluminate additive as an accelerator. The slurries may have a set time of about 10 minutes or less. Due to the short set time, the cementitious reactive powders may facilitate cement board fabrication by continuous manufacturing processes. Methods for making cement boards may include disposing the aqueous cementitious slurry including the cementitious reactive powders in a continuous layer, preferably upon a porous support, and setting the aqueous cementitious slurry with a set time of about 10 minutes or less.