![]() Zearn Corporate logo | |
Company type | 501(c)(3) |
---|---|
Industry | Educational technology |
Founded | 2012 |
Founders | Shalinee Sharma (CEO) Evan Rudall |
Headquarters | , U.S. |
Website | zearn |
Zearn is an American nonprofit educational software organization founded in 2012. [1] It develops Zearn Math, an online mathematics curriculum. [2] [3]
Zearn was co-founded in 2012 by CEO Shalinee Sharma [4] and Evan Rudall, former CEO of Uncommon Schools. [5] It received $4.4 million in funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, [4] part of the foundation's $1 billion investment into math education. [6] The company launched a K–5 online curriculum in 2017, and a K–8 curriculum in 2022. [7] Much of its content handles topics like adaptive mathematics skills, conceptual understanding, and procedural fluency. [8]
As of 2022, the company claimed that its software was used by 25% of US elementary school students and more than one million middle school students. [4] In addition to mainstream classroom use, the platform is also used in personalized tutoring and small group instruction. [9]
In 2023, the New York City Department of Education signed a seven-year contract with Zearn, in spite of complaints from parents and teachers who found that the platform increased students' screen time, decreased teachers' instructional time, and focused on test-preparation rather than critical thinking skills. [10]