My Math Academy
Impact
My Math Academy currently has over 2 million users across the US, and multiple implementation and efficacy studies of the program have been conducted. A randomized control trial (RCT) conducted with pre-k and kindergarteners in 2017 showed that My Math Academy significantly accelerated their learning gains in comparison to the control group (N=453). These results were replicated in another RCT in 2019 with kindergarteners, 1st and 2nd graders (N=958). In both studies, those who mastered more skills in My Math Academy also demonstrated greater learning gains, and the greatest impacts were found on the most difficult skills. Additionally, teachers across both studies recognized My Math Academy as a user-friendly, valuable learning resource, especially given their students’ greater engagement, motivation, and confidence in learning math.
Accomplished
- Need Accomplished
- Evaluation Accomplished
- Sustainability Accomplished
- Replication & Scalability Developing
- Partnerships Accomplished
- Capacity Accomplished
- Challenging & Relevant Content Accomplished
- STEM Practices Developing
- Inspiration Accomplished
- Under-Represented Groups Accomplished
My students are so excited using My Math Academy at our school. The amount of growth they’ve made this year is just phenomenal. We even have Kindergarteners doing Second grade math
California
Design Principles
The programs in this database clear a high bar. STEMworks reviewed each program against the Design Principles for Effective STEM Philanthropy. Programs must be Accomplished (
) across all Design Principles, or be Developing (
) in a maximum of three areas.
Overarching Principles
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Need Accomplished
Identify and target a compelling and well-defined need.
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Evaluation Accomplished
Use rigorous evaluation to continuously measure and inform progress towards the compelling need identified.
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Sustainability Accomplished
Ensure work is sustainable.
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Replication & Scalability Developing
Demonstrate replicability and scalability.
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Partnerships Accomplished
Create high impact partnerships.
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Capacity Accomplished
Ensure organizational capacity to achieve goals.
STEM Principles
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Challenging & Relevant Content Accomplished
Offer challenging and relevant STEM content for the target audience.
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STEM Practices Developing
Incorporate and encourage STEM practices.
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Inspiration Accomplished
Inspire interest and engagement in STEM.
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Under-Represented Groups Accomplished
Identify and address the needs of under-represented groups.
Program Overview
The My Math Academy program addresses children’s proficiency in foundational math skills, an important predictor of later academic success and preparedness for 21st century STEM careers. It is a game-based adaptive learning system designed to help children in PreK-2nd grade build a strong understanding of fundamental number sense and operations. It is also a solution for educators who serve children with varying levels of math knowledge and need to align instruction with rigorous learning standards. The program includes 30 games with 130+ activities, covering concepts and skills for pre-kindergarten through 2nd grade. Each game maps to a learning objective and is supported by an interactive instruction level and several layers of scaffolding and feedback. This built-in adaptivity gives players a customized pathway between skills based on prior performance. Assessment is embedded throughout the play experience, including game-based pretests and final assessment tasks. Additionally, the game system uses cohesive narratives and interactive characters to engage students with the learning world. With engaging characters and scenarios, individualized learning pathways, and continuous assessment built into every level of every game, Mastering Math helps children achieve proficiency through practice that incorporates repetition and variation, both important to successful learning. The program also includes a teacher dashboard that provides real-time data about students’ usage and progress within the app. It offers an overview of the entire class which can be filtered into teacher-created groups. It also contains activity recommendations for children with similar mastery levels. The teacher dashboard aims to empower the teacher with data about each child’s specific progress on each learning objective and recommendations about which children can be grouped together by their performance level in the game (i.e., ready to learn, need for review, reinforcement, or intervention). It aims to help them better tailor classroom instruction to accelerate learning.