Cignition Group Tutoring: Impacts on Students’ Math Knowledge and Perceptions

Cignition provides live virtual one-on-one and group math tutoring using video conferencing and interactive tools, experienced educators as tutors, and formative data for teachers and parents via an online platform. This study used a randomized controlled trial to measure the impact of Cignition’s math tutoring for groups of up to four students on students’ math knowledge, confidence, and enjoyment. The study collected survey and math assessment data before and after the study period to measure outcomes of the group tutoring: a Cignition fractions assessment to measure math knowledge, the Patterns of Adaptive Learning Scale (PALS) to measure confidence in math, the Math and Me survey to measure enjoyment of math, and the Copilot-Elevate survey to measure student–tutor relationships. The sample included 157 5th-grade students with complete math achievement data and 139 students with complete survey data. Students who participated in Cignition virtual group tutoring scored 9 percentage points higher on the Cignition fractions assessment than control group students, after accounting for baseline differences, which translates to an effect size of 0.44 standard deviations. Students who participated in tutoring also experienced slightly higher math confidence and enjoyment than control group students. This report is one in a series of six reports on math tutoring programs. The report is based on research funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The findings and conclusions contained within are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect positions or policies of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.