Adopting Computer Assisted Learning (CAL) at Scale

Educators and policymakers are facing growing disparities in academic achievement between high and low-income students, differences that appear to have increased as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. A promising cost-effective strategy to address this issue is the use of Computer Assisted Learning (CAL) technologies, which help students progress through topics at their own pace while receiving feedback and support. However, whether CAL interventions can be scaled up effectively remains a first-order question. Our project is a collaboration with the Puerto Rico Department of Education to experimentally evaluate the impact of a large-scale training and coaching program to support mathematics teachers to use Khan Academy, one of the most popular mathematics-oriented CAL educational platforms. The program will be gradually phased-in and offered at scale to the population of fourth to eighth grade Mathematics teachers in the system’s approximately 650 primary and middle schools. We will also test whether complementary technology-enabled behavioral interventions can promote its use via parental involvement. The study will examine the program’s impact on math achievement in elementary and secondary school classrooms, as well as student, teacher, and parent experiences with the program.