As teachers and students stream into classrooms for the start of the new school year, we’re heartened to share the results of new research. When students used MAP Accelerator, our personalized math tool jointly developed with NWEA, for at least 30 minutes a week, they achieved better-than-projected gains in math test scores.
MAP Accelerator uses MAP Growth scores to automatically generate a personalized, mastery-based math learning plan for every student. Our goal with MAP Accelerator is to help teachers save time by doing the challenging work of differentiation for them, while still keeping teachers as the instructional decision makers.
The study includes more than 180,000 students in third through eighth grades from 649 schools. We explored the relationship between time spent on MAP Accelerator and observed growth in math achievement from fall 2020 to spring 2021, as measured by the MAP Growth assessment. Results showed benefits associated with 30 minutes of use:
- On average, test-score gains were 19% larger than projected.
- Scores increased across all grade levels.
- Scores increased across gender, race/ethnicity, and poverty level.
The study was conducted during the height of the pandemic when many districts were operating on hybrid or remote instruction models.
“Despite the circumstances, the students in this study who used MAP Accelerator as recommended made gains in math that are larger than projected, even for a pre-pandemic school year,” said our founder, Sal Khan.
Students clearly worked hard—and the grownups around them did too. We’d like to extend our deepest gratitude to the teachers, staff, district administrators, parents, and caregivers who persevered during those challenging days to keep everyone learning.
To all, a heartfelt thank you from the team at Khan Academy!
If you’d like to learn more about the study, please see our research brief.
