NBA Math Hoops significantly improves elementary and middle school students' math achievement compared to business-as-usual summer STEM programming (0.19 SD gain)¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · causal r2 · q3–q4 · i1 small
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q4 i1 In a 2-year RCT with 256 students, NBA Math Hoops students scored 0.19 SD higher in composite math than control students (β = 0.19, p < 0.05), equivalent to an 8-percentile-point gain. → 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

q4 · i1 · causal · r2

A 2-year RCT randomly assigned rising 4th-6th graders to NBA Math Hoops or business-as-usual STEM enrichment in a summer camp. Treatment students scored "0.19 standard deviations higher" than controls (β = 0.19, p < 0.05), "equivalent to a student in the 50th percentile moving to the 58th percentile."

"Regression estimates indicate that there was a significant difference between the composite math score of students in the treatment condition as compared to the control condition (𝛽 = 0.19, 𝑝 < 0.05), controlling for pre-math composite score, pre-SEL composite score, gender, and individualized education program (IEP) status."

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

q3 · i1 · causal · r2

Exploratory subscore analyses from the same RCT found the largest contributors were Numbers and Operations (β = 0.17, p < 0.10) and Probability and Data (β = 0.15, p > 0.10), with positive average impacts on other subscores.

"Exploratory analyses indicated that the largest contributors to the significant difference in the composite math score were Numbers and Operations (𝛽 = 0.17, 𝑝 < 0.10) and Probability and Data (𝛽 = 0.15, 𝑝 > 0.10). The average impacts on the other math subscores were also positive (Figure 2)."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• 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 math gains are larger for students entering with stronger incoming math scores, with no significant variation by gender, IEP status, or incoming SEL — related
• 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 — 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
• ASSISTments achieved a long-term effect comparable to high-dosage tutoring at a small fraction of the cost — related
• The Saga blended technology-enhanced tutoring model significantly improves standardized math scores, math GPA, and reduces math course failures (+0.19) — related
• ASSISTments use in seventh grade produces a statistically significant long-term math achievement effect of 0.10 SD one year after implementation ends — related
• Education Corps high-dosage literacy tutoring raises end-of-year DIBELS Composite scores more than business-as-usual supports for below-benchmark K-3 students — related
• A teacher-coaching CAL program produces significant intent-to-treat gains in elementary and middle school math performance of 0.12-0.22 standard deviations — related