Maths-Whizz aims to improve pupils’ attainment in maths, increase their motivation, and make learning more enjoyable. Pupils use the online Maths-Whizz platform for 45 – 60 minutes a week, in addition to their usual maths lessons throughout the school year.
The platform provides personalised tutoring to pupils, alongside a library of digital resources and live reports for teachers. Training helps school leaders and teachers support pupils to engage with the platform and use learning data to inform teaching. Schools also receive support to develop an implementation plan.
Maths-Whizz is designed for pupils in Years 1 to Year 8. The EEF evaluation tested it with pupils in Years 2 to 5. Whizz Education developed the programme.
Research evidence shows that one-to-one tutoring can improve pupil outcomes. The EEF’s Teaching and Learning Toolkit shows that tutoring interventions can have a high impact on attainment. Evidence also suggests that intelligent tutoring programmes show promise, especially for improving outcomes in maths.
The EEF evaluated Maths-Whizz through an efficacy trial, which tests a programme under best possible conditions. The efficacy trial found that pupils allocated to use Maths-Whizz made one additional month’s progress in maths, on average, compared to pupils who were not allocated to receive the programme.
This finding has a four-padlock security rating, which means that we are confident that this additional progress was due to the programme itself rather than other factors.
The impact was even greater for pupils eligible for free school meals (FSM). FSM-eligible pupils who were allocated to use Maths-Whizz made, on average, two additional months progress in maths compared with similar pupils who were not allocated to receive the programme.
This suggests that Maths-Whizz may be particularly beneficial for disadvantaged pupils. However, because this analysis included fewer pupils, these findings are less secure than the finding for all pupils.
These positive results have led EEF to designate this as a ‘Promising Programme’.
The EEF is discussing next steps for a potential effectiveness trial for Maths Whizz.
- This was an efficacy trial, that took place in 63 schools. The schools were spread throughout England.
- 92% of the schools involved were Good or Outstanding schools. This is slightly higher than average.
- Around 26% of the pupils in the schools had been eligible for free schools meals at some point (EverFSM). This is in line with the national average.
Whizz Education works with each school to develop a bespoke implementation plan that aligns with their goals and to gain leadership support. This helps schools integrate Maths-Whizz into their existing maths provision.
Teachers receive two 45-minute training sessions. The first focuses on facilitating pupil engagement with the platform and helping staff to understand and respond to the pupil engagement data. The second focuses on using reports of pupil learning data to inform classroom teaching and make effective use of the digital resource library.
It is recommended that pupils use Maths-Whizz for 45 – 60 minutes per week, spread across two or more sessions. Pupils use the programme alongside, rather than as a replacement for, their usual maths lessons. After completing an initial diagnostic assessment, pupils follow customised learning pathways that include tutoring, exercises, and tests. The programme adapts to each pupil’s needs and requires them to demonstrate mastery before moving on. Teachers monitor progress through a central reporting platform and use the data to inform their teaching.
To implement the programme, schools need to provide each participating pupil with access to a laptop or tablet with Wi-Fi connectivity for the allotted time each week.
In the efficacy trial, the programme was well implemented and well received by schools. Around 93% of surveyed teachers reported that they were satisfied with Maths-Whizz. Most teachers felt that Maths-Whizz had impacted their pupils positively such as through reducing gaps in learning and increasing pupils’ confidence. Pupils also reported enjoying using Maths-Whizz, particularly its gamified approach to learning.
The positive results from the trial were achieved even though pupils used Maths-Whizz for an average of 32 minutes per week, below the recommended 45 – 60 minutes. This suggests there may be potential for further impact if pupils use Maths-Whizz for longer.
For the programme as trialled in the efficacy evaluation, the average cost of Maths Whizz for two year groups in a school was very low at around £22 per pupil per year when averaged over 3 years.
This is an estimate of holistic school costs to implement the programme at the time of the evaluation. Schools will need to check the current cost of the programme through Whizz Education.
Maths-Whizz is currently available for any school to purchase from Whizz Education. A free pilot version is available to try before purchase. The programme is available for pupils in Years 1 to Year 8 (though the EEF has only evaluated the impact on pupils in Year 2 to Year 5). The programme is aligned with the National Curriculum in England.
More information can be found on the Maths-Whizz website.