Grantee: Zearn
Study Type: Quasi-Experiment and Correlational Study
Principal Investigators: Alisa Szatrowski, Jessica Rickel, Charlie Rosemond – Zearn
Project Description: This is a set of retrospective correlational and quasi-experimental studies of student math performance based on data from students in grades one through six who used the Zearn Math learning digital platform during the 2018-19, 2020-21, and/or 2021-22 school years. The research team examined the relation between student math achievement for those who were consistent users of the Zearn Math platform, as defined as those who completed three or more Zearn Math lessons per week, with demographically similar students who used the platform infrequently or not at all during the same time period.
Key Findings: Report Excerpt on Study Findings Analysis of consistent Zearn Math users and a comparable group of non-users in District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) shows that students who used Zearn Math consistently had higher levels of academic growth than similar students with low- or no-usage. This analysis used two quasi-experimental methods, Coarsened Exact Matching (CEM) and fixed effects, to examine the impact of Zearn Math across ~1,000 students who completed an average of 3+ Zearn Math lessons per week, during the 2018-19, 2020-21 and/or 2021-22 school years. Findings showed that students who used Zearn Math consistently grew 36 percent more; the equivalent of 10.5 additional weeks of learning in one school year, as measured by the i-Ready Diagnostic. Students who started two or more years below grade level had almost two times the growth with consistent Zearn Math usage as similar students with low or no usage; the equivalent of an additional 23.7 weeks. Consistent Zearn Math usage was shown to result in a 32 percent reduction in summer slide, equivalent to five weeks of learning over the summer. Students with consistent Zearn Math usage in 2020-21 maintained almost 75 percent of their additional growth a year after they stopped using Zearn Math.
Study Citation: Szatrowski, Alisa, Rickel, Jessica, & Charlie Rosemond. Efficacy Analysis of Zearn Math in DC Public Schools. Zearn, 2022. Retrieved from https://webassets.zearn.org/Implementation/DCPSTechnicalPaper.pdf.
Full report here.
Executive summary here.
The Key Findings above were reproduced from the published report and do not necessarily reflect interpretation of Overdeck Family Foundation staff.
