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Zearn
Company type501(c)(3)
IndustryEducational technology
Founded2012; 12 years ago (2012)
Headquarters
New York City, New York
,
U.S.
Key people
Shalinee Sharma (CEO)
Websitezearn.org

Zearn is an American nonprofit educational software organization. Its online program, Zearn Math, was founded in 2012[1] and tries to help school students[2] explore and make sense of mathematical concepts.[1]

The organization develops digital lessons and curriculum for teachers, school districts and state education agencies and provides data on math learning.[3] Zearn’s curriculum is used in both targeted small group instruction and in personalized digital lessons.[4]

History

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In 2012, Evan Rudall, former CEO of Uncommon Schools, founded Zearn as a nonprofit organization to develop interactive digital math content for elementary school children.[5] The organization received $4.4 million in grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,[6] part of the foundation's larger $1 billion investment into math education.[7] Co-founder and CEO since 2016, Shalinee Sharma, previously worked at Bain & Company for 12 years.[8][9]

The organization developed the digital learning platform Zearn Math, with online interactive curriculum that could be used by educators within classes, as well as by students for extra learning.[6] The lessons are free for students and teachers, with schools and school districts able to pay for extra services including training and printed lessons.[6] First used in New York, the curriculum was used as part of statewide tutoring programs in Tennessee and Texas.[6] By 2022, it was being used by 25% of US elementary school students and more than one million middle school students according to its own tracking of sign-ons.[6]

An evaluation report by Johns Hopkins School of Education in 2019 found that overall perceptions of Zearn Math were very positive, with the smaller group model of the curriculum a particular strength.[10] Differences in achievement gains were small but "statistically significant" and the report recommended further support be provided for independent learning and individual needs.[10]

In March 2023, the New York City Department of Education approved a seven year contract with Zearn for $983,500.[11]

Research

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An Efficacy Research Study on the use of Zearn in Nebraska showed that Black and Latino students, English learners and those who qualified for free and reduced lunch who used Zearn programmatically achieved "significant proficiency gains" in state math assessment.[12]

Due to its large dataset, data from Zearn was used by nonprofit organization Opportunity Insights to analyze student participation rates during the Covid-19 pandemic.[13][14] Zearn analyzed data from 600,000 elementary and middle school students across the United States showing how they responded to either learning acceleration or remediation over two school years.[15] In partnership with The New Teacher Project (TNTP), Zearn data provided comparisons of remediation and acceleration, finding that students who experienced learning acceleration struggled less and learned more than students experiencing remediation. The data also found that students of color and students from low-income households were more likely to experience remediation than their white, wealthier counterparts.[16]

Reviews

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Zearn Math received a green rating for "meets expectations" across all categories of a review by independent nonprofit EdReports.[17] A study by Zearn analyzing the impact of Nebraska's education department's partnership with the company found that students who consistently used the platform had 2.5 times the growth of their state assessment scores than those who did not.[18] However, some parents and teachers in New York criticized the use of the platform for increasing students' screen time, decreasing teachers' instructional time, and focusing on test-preparation rather than critical thinking skills.[11]

References

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  1. ^ a b Manny Maceda (October 8, 2021). "Bringing Math to the Masses: A Conversation with Zearn CEO Shalinee Sharma". Bain & Company. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  2. ^ "Gov. Polis Announces Digital Math Accelerator to Boost Student Math Achievement". Yahoo!. Colorado. April 10, 2023. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  3. ^ Shalinee Sharma (2023). "Numeracy for All". Education Next. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  4. ^ "MATH AT ALLIES". Academy for Literacy, Learning & Innovation Excellence. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  5. ^ Whitmire, Richard (December 7, 2016). "A 'Founders' Excerpt: How 4 Visionary Entrepreneurs Joined Forces to Launch Uncommon Schools". The 74. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d e Daniel Mollenkamp (December 12, 2022). "What Is Zearn — the Math Platform the Gates Foundation Is Betting Big On?". EdSurge. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  7. ^ Klein, Alyson (October 19, 2022). "Why the Gates Foundation Is Investing $1.1 Billion in Math Education". Education Week. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  8. ^ Dix, Michael (September 21, 2021). "The Hunt for the How Season 1 Episode 4: Purpose versus profit with Shalinee Sharma". Intentional Futures. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  9. ^ "Zearn". ProPublica. May 9, 2013. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  10. ^ a b "Efficacy Study of Zearn Math in a Large Urban School District" (PDF). Johns Hopkins School of Education. April 2019. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  11. ^ a b Lin, Sarah Belle (March 20, 2023). "Panel for Educational Policy approves near $1M contract for controversial digital math learning program". AMNY. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  12. ^ "Nebraska Invests in K-8 Math Acceleration and Analyzes Impact". EduRecoveryHub. Nebraska. November 3, 2022. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  13. ^ "County Variations in Student Distance Learning" (PDF). Opportunity Insights. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  14. ^ Raj Chetty; John N. Friedman; Michael Stepner (April 2023). "The Economic Impacts of COVID-19: Evidence from a New Public Database Built Using Private Sector Data" (PDF). Opportunity Insights Team. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  15. ^ Lauren Camera (August 10, 2022). "For Students' Academic Recovery, It's Acceleration vs. Remediation". USNews. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  16. ^ "ACCELERATE, DON'T REMEDIATE New Evidence from Elementary Math Classrooms". TNTP. May 23, 2021. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  17. ^ "Summary of Alignment & Usability: Zearn, Math". edreports. 2018. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  18. ^ Lauraine Langreo (April 4, 2023). "Using Tech to Accelerate Learning: One Teacher's Story". EducationWeek. Nebraska. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
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