What’s involved?

Maths-Whizz is a whole-class online intelligent tutoring programme that aims to improve pupils’ maths outcomes and pupils’ motivation towards, and enjoyment of, learning maths. This project will be delivered to pupils in years 2 – 5 (age 6 – 10). Pupils will access the Maths-Whizz platform for about an hour each week. This can be divided into several sessions, such as three times a week, and does not interfere with regular maths lessons.

The project is led by Whizz Education. Whizz Education will partner with participating schools to determine the school’s vision for success and develop an implementation plan aligned to their school’s goals.

Two training sessions from Education Success Partners will prepare leadership and teaching staff to facilitate pupil engagement with the Maths-Whizz platform and empower staff to understand and act upon learning data.

Maths-Whizz lessons are automated and differentiated for each pupil. When a pupil first logs in they will complete a low-pressure initial assessment to identify their individual strengths, weaknesses, and gaps in knowledge. Maths-Whizz then provides interactive and engaging lessons, exercises, and tests in a sequence appropriate to each individual pupil’s ability, constantly adapting at their own pace of learning with a focus on plugging knowledge gaps to accelerate pupil learning outcomes, reduce maths anxiety and build confidence.

As pupils complete learning objectives, their progress is available for teachers to monitor in a central reporting platform. Teachers can use this data to identify learning gaps and provide further targeted intervention where needed.

Who can take part?

Any Infant or Primary school with children in Year 2, 3, 4 and 5 as of 1 September 2024.

To be eligible to participate in the trial your school must:

• Not have mixed age year groups (i.e. children who are from more than one-year group within the same class) in any of Years 2, 3, 4 and 5 in the 2024 – 25 academic year.
• Not have implemented Maths-Whizz or any Whizz associated services in the academic year 2023 – 24.
• Not be participating in another EEF-funded programme in the 2024 – 25 academic year.
• Have a suitable level of IT provision including devices such as tablets/​laptops/​desktops and sufficient wi-fi capacity (0.5 Mbps internet connection per concurrent pupil) (see Maths-Whizz minimum requirements).

Many children, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, leave primary school without achieving the expected level in maths. In 2022, only 56% of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds reached the expected level at the end of Key Stage 2, compared to 78% of pupils from non-disadvantaged backgrounds (DfE, 2022).

Intelligent tutoring programmes show promise, especially for improving outcomes in mathematics. There has been a quasi-experimental design trial of Maths-Whizz on the attainment of pupils in Mexico. The results suggested that Maths Whizz had a positive impact on pupil outcomes. The Maths-Whizz programme’s support and training offer is aligned with EEF guidance on professional development and implementation.

The evaluation will be an efficacy trial, meaning it will assess the impact of Maths-Whizz on pupils’ mathematical attainment. It will also evaluate the impact of Maths-Whizz on pupils’ motivation towards learning maths.

An Implementation and Process evaluation will be conducted alongside the Impact evaluation to explore how schools implement the programme and perceptions of Maths-Whizz.