Spotlight

UPchieve - Report on Impact of Online Tutoring on Math Achievement

Grantee: UPchieve

Study Type: RCTs (multiple), Quasi-Experiments (multiple), Pre-Post (multiple)

Principal Investigator: UPchieve and Mathematica

Project Description: This reports on a series of small randomized controlled encouragement design studies, quasi-experiments, and pre-post studies that assessed the impact of weekly email reminders and five dollar financial incentives on (i) student take-up of UPchieve, a free online tutoring platform for economically-disadvantaged students, and (ii) student math achievement. The study samples were comprised of 99-125 ninth- and tenth-grade students over a 14-week period in late 2021 and early 2022 who were offered access to UPchieve’s math tutoring platform, some of whom were randomly assigned to receive encouragement and financial incentives to participate and others who were not, as well as those who were existing or new users outside the context of the randomization process.

Key Findings: Researchers estimated that an increase in UPchieve usage from approximately 3.5 sessions to nine sessions over a 14-week period resulted in an average increase in Star Math assessment scores of approximately 0.23 standard deviations. These findings indicate there is a 91 percent probability that an increase in UPchieve tutoring had a positive impact on students’ math knowledge; however, due to the small sample (89 students), these findings must be interpreted with caution. Researchers also found that an increase in UPchieve tutoring had positive effects on students’ motivation, as well as confidence in and engagement with math.

Study Citation: UPchieve: Final Report. UPchieve and Mathematica Policy Research, 2022. Retrieved from https://upchieve.org/impact.

Full report here.

The Key Findings above were reproduced from the published report and do not necessarily reflect interpretation of Overdeck Family Foundation staff.

Research Repository

A collection of research funded by Overdeck Family Foundation.

Summaries of Research Grants

As a leading education funder, we are dedicated to advancing the belief that “evidence matters” through novel, methodologically sound, and actionable research that uncovers programs and models with the potential to positively improve outcomes for all children. We believe research is a key way to increase awareness of what’s effective and to impact evidence-based decision making and practice across our main grantmaking areas: early childhood, informal STEM education, and K-9 programs that include supporting educators and student-centered learning environments.

Aligned with our core value of “learn better, together,” Overdeck Family Foundation is committed to promoting transparent research practices by lifting up timely findings of the research we fund. We update this page as research is concluded and published, ensuring transparency for the field and our grantees.

Research Areas

Early Childhood

Validation and knowledge generation studies in the field of early childhood.

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K-9 Education

Research into what works for students and educators in the classroom.

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Out-of-School STEM

Validation and knowledge generation studies on the impact of out-of-school STEM.

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Other

Research into cross-cutting topics across the education sector.

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Early Childhood

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Effect of Nurse-Family Partnership's Intensive Nurse Home Visiting Program on Adverse Birth Outcomes in a Medicaid-Eligible Population: A Randomized Clinical Trial

I-LABS - Dual-MEG Interbrain Synchronization During Turn-Taking Verbal Interactions Between Mothers and Children

I-LABS - Language Experience During Infancy Predicts White Matter Myelination at Age Two

I-LABS & LENA - Language Input in Late Infancy Scaffolds Emergent Literacy Skills and Predicts Reading-Related White Matter Development

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K-9 Education

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Impact of PowerMyLearning's Social Emotional Learning Program: 2021-2022 Mid-Year and School Year Analysis

Khan Academy - Use of MAP Accelerator Associated With Better-Than-Projected Gains in MAP Growth Scores

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The Impact and Implementation of Leading Educators' Chicago Collaborative Teacher Professional Development Program

The Next Education Workforce - Team-Based Staffing Models Can Make Schools Work Better for Both Learners and Educators

Unlocking Acceleration: How Below-Grade Level Work is Holding Students Back in Literacy

UPchieve - Report on Impact of Online Tutoring on Math Achievement

Zearn - Catching Up and Moving Forward: Accelerating Math Learning for Every Student

Out-of-School STEM

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Other

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