What happened
DreamBox Math is an adaptive online program that supplements math teaching in class. Evidence for ESSA rates it Strong on two randomized studies with 13,320 students. The clearinghouse belongs to the Center for Research and Reform in Education at Johns Hopkins University. In the first study, over 500 kindergarten and first-grade students used the program for four months. They attended three charter schools with high poverty in the San Francisco Bay Area. They gained more than controls on a measurement and geometry subtest (effect size +0.16) and scored higher on the whole test (+0.11). The second study covered over 10,000 students in 24 North Carolina schools. Students in kindergarten to grade 2 outperformed controls on the Number Knowledge Test (+0.12). Grade 4 and 5 results on the state end-of-grade test were not meaningfully higher (+0.03). Averaged across studies and measures, the effect size is +0.10. SRI International conducted the first study, which the What Works Clearinghouse also reviewed. The clearinghouse does not say who funded the studies or how the program adapts.
Sources
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Assessment report, by authors with no tie to the system.
Evidence for ESSA, Center for Research and Reform in Education, Johns Hopkins University. DreamBox Math: program page, rating Strong. Accessed 31 October 2026.
Averaging across studies and measures, the effect size = +0.10. In addition to a “Strong” rating, DreamBox receives a badge for having two randomized studies with significant positive results.
Details
AI system
- Workflow
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The program adapted continuously to learners' actions and decisions in a game-like environment. Schools used it to complement classroom instruction.
Follow-up
- Conditions for replication
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Schools may need staff for technology support. The gains appeared in kindergarten to grade 2 and were not meaningful in grades 4 and 5.
Entry details
- Sector
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Education.
- Purpose
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DreamBox Learning built DreamBox Math to supplement math teaching in class with lessons that adapt continuously to each learner's actions and decisions.
Not yet checked: model, release, provider, role, configuration, inputs and outputs, autonomy, human oversight, beneficiaries, reach, distribution and access, duration, every measurement question, every money question, ownership and control, dependencies, cross-border connections, geopolitical implications, replication attempts, availability, institutional decision, grounds, action and result, success criterion, every evidence question, observed or intended, alternative assessments, related entries, other identifiers, category mappings.
Cite this record
Peter H. Vartanian. (2026). DreamBox Math earns a Strong rating for early math gains (AIBD-0717). Artificial Intelligence Benefits Database, edition of 31 October 2026. https://petervartanian.xyz/aibd/records/AIBD-0717.html (archived at https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/AADSII, version 4.0)