Grantee: University of Chicago Education Lab. The full study report is linked here.
Description of the Intervention: Saga Technology is a blended-learning tutoring program, provided to ninth graders at all levels of math proficiency (not just struggling students). Students participate in the program for one class period per day, every day, for the full school year. They alternate, on successive days, between working with an in-person tutor and individually engaging with an education technology platform (ALEKS). Tutors are well-educated individuals (often recent college graduates), without formal teacher training, who are willing to work for one year for a modest stipend as a public service. The average student-tutor ratio in the tutoring sessions is 4:1.
Saga Technology is a lower-cost version of Saga’s traditional math tutoring program, which has been found effective in prior well-conducted RCTs. Saga’s traditional program provides daily in-person tutoring with a 2:1 student-tutor ratio and does not have an educational technology component. Saga Technology’s cost – approximately $2,585 per tutored student – is roughly 30% that of the traditional program.
Study Design: The study sample comprised 2,065 incoming ninth graders in six high-poverty high schools – two in Chicago, and four in New York City – in the 2018 – 2019 school year. f1 These students were randomly assigned to a treatment group that received Saga Technology, versus a control group that received usual school classes and services. 24% of sample members were Black, 57% were Hispanic, and 91% were economically disadvantaged. The study’s pre-registered primary outcome was end-of-year math achievement on the districts’ standardized tests.
Impact on the Primary Outcome: The study found that Saga Technology produced a statistically significant increase in end-of-year math achievement on the district test of 0.19 standard deviations. This effect represents approximately an 86% improvement over the annual gain in math otherwise expected for ninth graders. f2
Study Quality: Based on careful review, we believe this study was well-conducted and produced valid findings. f3
