DreamBox Learning Achievement Growth

An impact study on the use of DreamBox Learning software on student achievement in the Howard County Public School System (HCPSS) and the Rocketship Education charter school network.

Reports: Key Findings, Technical Appendix

By providing targeted instructional content and practice problems for students, educational software promises to help teachers work more productively. Software could allow teachers to reallocate their time to helping students one-onone or in small groups and provide students with content and practice opportunities targeted at their current level of understanding.

Unfortunately, there is little evidence yet that educational software is actually helping students progress more rapidly. Given the financial costs and the amount of time that students are spending on educational software, we need to identify more quickly what’s working and what’s not.

In 2014, the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University began working with the Howard County Public School System (HCPSS) and the Rocketship Education (Rocketship) charter school network to measure the impact of the use of DreamBox Learning software on student achievement in their schools.

Key Findings

Highlights from the Key Findings report:

1. Most students did not reach the recommended levels of usage of the DreamBox software.

2. Some schools used DreamBox software to target low-achieving students and after-school learning, while others did not.

3. The variation in DreamBox software use was driven largely teacher- and school-level practices, as opposed to student preferences.

4. Students who spent more time on the DreamBox software saw larger gains in achievement.

5. Students who followed the DreamBox lesson recommendations, as opposed to going back and repeating content, saw faster gains.

6. The DreamBox progress measure was positively associated with achievement gains on state tests and interim assessments.

7. The evidence for the causal impact of DreamBox on student achievement is encouraging but mixed.

Learn more: Key Findings, Technical Appendix

Partners

Education Agencies

Howard County Public School System
Rocketship Education

Technology

DreamBox Learning

Resources

Key Findings Report: DreamBox Learning Achievement Growth

Technical Appendix: DreamBox Learning Achievement Growth

News

The Silicon Valley Billionaires Remaking America’s Schools

June 06, 2017

Findings from a CEPR impact study on DreamBox Learning are referenced in the following article by the New York Times. In San Francisco’s public schools, Marc Benioff, the chief executive of Salesforce, is giving middle school principals $100,000...

Harvard Researchers Probe Student Time Spent Using DreamBox Math Software

June 08, 2016

Findings from a CEPR impact study on DreamBox Learning are highlighted, along with an interview with CEPR Research Manager Rodney Hughes, in the following Education Week blog post by Digital Education. The more time students spent using the popular...

DreamBox Learning Achievement Growth