Localizing word-problem character names improved MATHia performance only for specific subgroup-majority schools, with no improvement in sense of belonging overall¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2026 · checked against its sources 2026-10-15 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? In schools with majority Black or American Indian/Alaska Native subgroups, students in both Personalization and Notification conditions showed improved MATHia performance compared with Control. → Murphy 2026 q2 i? In majority Hispanic/Latino schools, performance improved only in the Notification condition, compared to both Control and Personalization. → Murphy 2026 q2 i? The intervention showed no improvement in sense of belonging. → Murphy 2026

Evidence¶

Murphy 2026¶

Murphy, A. (2026, July). Classroom-Based experimentation in a digital learning platform. Digital Promise. https://doi.org/10.51388/20.500.12265/306

q2 · i? · causal · r2

Randomized field experiment within the XPRIZE Digital Learning Challenge, conducted in five school districts across five states, assigning students to Control, Personalization, or Notification name conditions in MATHia. The report found "no improvement in sense of belonging" but subgroup-majority schools showed improved performance; no effect size is printed.

"While results showed no improvement in sense of belonging, we found that for schools with the majority of their student populations identifying as from Black or American Indian/Alaska Native subgroups, these groups showed improved MATHia performance in both of the intervention conditions (Personalization and Notification) compared with the Control condition."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Race and Ethnicity — moderator: an instructional effect differs by group

Related Claims¶

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• A 1993 case-study paper on culturally aware teachers asserts, without data of its own, that instruction incorporating students' life experiences, language and skills improves academic performance — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it

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