What happened
Whizz Education's Maths-Whizz is an online tutor that assesses each pupil and then adapts lessons to the gaps that it finds. The National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) evaluated it for the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) in a randomized trial in 63 English primary schools. Schools were randomly assigned to use it in Years 2 and 4 or in Years 3 and 5, and the other year groups served as controls. Pupils used it from September 2024 to June 2025. NFER found that pupils allocated to Maths-Whizz made one additional month's progress in math, an effect size of 0.08. Pupils eligible for free school meals made two additional months' progress. The main finding has a high security rating on the EEF's scale. Pupils used the platform for about 32 minutes a week. Whizz Education recruited the schools and delivered the program, and in close to half of the schools Maths-Whizz time replaced some math teaching. The report calls the tutor AI-enabled but does not say whether it learns from data. NFER published the report in June 2026.
Sources
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Evaluation report, by authors with no tie to the system.
Aston K, Sahasranaman A, Schwendel G, Welbourne S. Maths-Whizz Intelligent Tutoring Programme: Evaluation report. National Foundation for Educational Research for the Education Endowment Foundation, June 2026. Executive summary, Table 1, p. 4. Trial registration ISRCTN13444898.
Pupils allocated to receive 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 high security.
Details
AI system
- Workflow
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Each pupil began with an adaptive assessment, and the tutor then set a learning plan for the gaps that it found. Teachers received two 45-minute training sessions, live reports on pupils' learning and a library of resources. Pupils used the platform for about 32 minutes a week, about 25 of them in tutor mode.
Follow-up
- Conditions for replication
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Pupils need devices and a working internet connection, since connectivity problems interrupted sessions and tests. Classes must use the tutor regularly, and pupils in classes that met the usage target made two additional months' progress.
Entry details
- Sector
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Education.
- Purpose
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Whizz Education built Maths-Whizz to give pupils personalized math tutoring that adapts to their needs, with resources and live reports for teachers.
References
- Other identifiers
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Isrctn: ISRCTN13444898.
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Cite this record
Peter H. Vartanian. (2026). Maths-Whizz tutor adds a month of math progress in English schools (AIBD-1151). Artificial Intelligence Benefits Database, edition of 1 November 2026. https://petervartanian.xyz/aibd/records/AIBD-1151.html (archived at https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/AADSII, version 7.0)