New Multi-State RCT with Imagine Learning
Empirical Education is excited to announce a new study on the effectiveness of Imagine Math, an online supplemental math program that helps students build conceptual understanding, problem-solving skills, and a resilient attitude toward math. The program provides adaptive instruction so that students can work at their own pace and offers live support from certified math teachers as students work through the content. Imagine Math also includes diagnostic benchmarks that allows educators to track progress at the student, class, school, and district level.
The research questions to be answered by this study are:
- What is the impact of Imagine Math on student achievement in mathematics in grades 6–8?
- Is the impact of Imagine Math different for students with diverse characteristics, such as those starting with weak or strong content-area skills?
- Are differences in the extent of use of Imagine Math, such as the number of lessons completed, associated with differences in student outcomes?
The new study will use a randomized control trial (RCT) or randomized experiment in which two equivalent groups of students are formed through random assignment. The experiment will specifically use a within-teacher RCT design, with randomization taking place at the classroom level for eligible math classes in grades 6–8.
Eligible classes will be randomly assigned to either use or not use Imagine Math during the school year, with academic achievement compared at the end of the year, in order to determine the impact of the program on grade 6-8 mathematics achievement. In addition, Empirical Education will make use of Imagine Math’s usage data for potential analysis of the program’s impact on different subgroups of users.
This is Empirical Education’s first project with Imagine Learning, highlighting our extensive experience conducting large-scale, rigorous, experimental impact studies. The study is commissioned by Imagine Learning and will take place in multiple school districts and states across the country, including Hawaii, Alabama, Alaska, and Delaware.