NBA Math Hoops was implemented with high fidelity: teachers completed an average of 8.31 of 10 lessons and played 14.5 games per classroom over roughly 15 days¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · causalr2·q2–q3
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · recheck by 2029: local conditions change quickly
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
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q3 i? Teachers implemented NBA Math Hoops on 12 of 14-15 potential instruction days, completed 8.31 of 10 lessons on average, and 71% of classrooms played more than 10 games. → McKinney 2026
Evidence¶
McKinney 2026¶
McKinney, D., Walters, K., Powell, K., Sabalburo, E., & Morton, C. (2026). The impact of NBA Math Hoops on students' math achievement: A randomized controlled trial. WestEd. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED681343
q3 · i? · causal · r2
Daily instructional logs from 11 NBA Math Hoops teachers showed mean of 8.31 lessons taught (SD 1.4) and 14.5 games played (SD 8.82). "On average, teachers reported implementing NBA Math Hoops components" on 12 of 14-15 potential days.
"Teachers reported teaching some or all of NBA Math Hoops lessons on an average of 8.44 days, completing an average of 8.31 of the 10 NBA Math Hoops lessons (Table 1). All but three teachers completed at least 8 lessons."
McKinney 2026 (2)¶
McKinney, D., Walters, K., Powell, K., Sabalburo, E., & Morton, C. (2026). The impact of NBA Math Hoops on students' math achievement: A randomized controlled trial. WestEd. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED681343
q2 · i? · causal · r2
Classroom observations and teacher/student interviews found NBA Math Hoops classrooms emphasized "interactive, game-based learning, often using real-world connections to basketball" with higher engagement than control STEM classrooms, which relied more on worksheets and direct instruction.
"Overall, NBA Math Hoops fostered higher levels of participation, deeper cognitive engagement, and greater retention of mathematical concepts."
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- NBA Math Hoops significantly improves elementary and middle school students' math achievement compared to business-as-usual summer STEM programming (0.19 SD gain) — related
- NBA Math Hoops can be implemented at low marginal cost: $17.85 per pupil (analytic sample) in materials and training beyond typical summer programming, yielding 0.19 SD math gain — related
- NBA Math Hoops students scored significantly lower than controls on a composite SEL measure (−0.21 SD), though remaining at moderately high levels — related
- NBA Math Hoops math gains are larger for students entering with stronger incoming math scores, with no significant variation by gender, IEP status, or incoming SEL — related
- Project With was implemented with high fidelity: 89 percent of activities were completed and youth listened during 83 percent and interacted during 76 percent of activities — related
- Teachers implemented Preschool PATHS with high fidelity and positive engagement in the trial — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
nba-math-hoops-high-implementation-fidelity |
title |
NBA Math Hoops was implemented with high fidelity: teachers completed an average of 8.31 of 10 lessons and played 14.5 games per classroom over roughly 15 days |
description |
NBA Math Hoops was implemented with high fidelity: teachers completed an average of 8.31 of 10 lessons and played 14.5 games per classroom over roughly 15 days |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
moderate |
newest_evidence |
2026 |
recheck_by |
2029 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-09 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
2 — mckinney-2026, mckinney-2026-2 |
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