Principal Investigator
Mingyu Feng – WestEd
Project Description
In this school-level, cluster RCT, 63 schools from 41 districts in North Carolina were paired based on student demographics and prior achievement levels and then randomly assigned to either receive ASSISTments or continue with business-as-usual. All seventh grade math teachers in intervention schools implemented ASSISTments over two consecutive years, with year one serving as a “warm-up” year (2018-19) and year two serving as the study year (2019-20). Teachers also received professional development and coaching to support implementation. Of note, the study year was interrupted due to COVID-19 school closures, with 43 percent of treatment group teachers continuing to implement ASSISTments remotely. Students’ math achievement at the end of eighth grade was measured by the North Carolina READY End-of-Grade test, a statewide measure of achievement.
Research Questions
- What are the long-term effects of the ASSISTments intervention on middle school students’ math achievement one year after the intervention was implemented?
- Do the intervention effects differ by students’ prior math achievement?
- Do the intervention effects differ by (3a) student demographic background subgroups or (3b) school background characteristics?
- Is there a relation between the extent to which the intervention was implemented in seventh grade and students’ math achievement at the end of eighth grade?
Key Findings
Intent-to-treat (ITT) analyses revealed that treatment group students performed significantly higher on math achievement (.8 points, effect size of .1), with 21.5 percent of treatment group students at proficiency compared to 15.8 percent of control group students. Researchers found that the intervention was more beneficial for students of color compared to White students and for Hispanic students compared to non-Hispanic students. Researchers also found marginal evidence that the intervention was more impactful for students with high prior math achievement scores than those with low prior math achievement, and no evidence that the program differentially impacted students based on gender, economic status, or disability status.
Study Citation
Feng, M., Brezack, N., Huang, C., & Collins, K. (2025). Long‐term effects of an online math tool on US adolescents’ achievement. British Journal of Educational Technology, 56(6), 2404-2427. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.13579
The Key Findings above were reproduced from the published report and do not necessarily reflect interpretation of Overdeck Family Foundation staff.
