Zearn

Last updated

Zearn
Company type501(c)(3)
Industry Educational technology
Founded2012;13 years ago (2012)
FoundersShalinee Sharma (CEO)
Evan Rudall
Headquarters
New York City, New York
,
U.S.
Services Online learning platform
Website zearn.org

Zearn is an American nonprofit educational software organization founded in 2012. [1] It develops Zearn Math, an online mathematics curriculum. [2] [3]

Contents

Overview

The platform is accessed via web browser, and is supported by Google Chrome, Safari, Microsoft Edge, and Firefox. [4] Lessons adapt in real time based on student needs. [5] Its content includes fluency games, videos, and quizzes, [6] many of which handle topics like conceptual understanding and procedural fluency. [7] Teachers and parents are able to access its digital library of lessons for free. [6]

History

Zearn was co-founded in 2012 by CEO Shalinee Sharma [8] and Evan Rudall, former CEO of Uncommon Schools. [9] It received $4.4 million in funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, [8] part of the foundation's $1 billion investment into math education. [10] The company launched a K–5 online curriculum in 2017, and a K–8 curriculum in 2022. [11] Much of its content handles topics like adaptive mathematics skills, conceptual understanding, and procedural fluency. [12]

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. [8] In addition to mainstream classroom use, the platform is also used in personalized tutoring and small group instruction. [13] The platform is used by public, private, charter and religious schools, and is also used in homeschooling. As of February 2025, over 60% of the platform's partners were Title I schools. [6]

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. [14]

In 2025, the platform received a "strong" rating from Evidence for ESSA, which found that Zearn Math had an average effect size of +0.09 on student outcomes based on 3 studies. This included a large-scale randomized controlled trial conducted by RAND Corporation, which found statistically significant gains on the NWEA MAP assessment. [4]

References

  1. ↑ Pershan, Michael (September 5, 2024). "Can Great Teaching (Plus an App) Solve our Math Problem?". Education Next. Retrieved March 14, 2025.
  2. ↑ "Efficacy Study of Zearn Math in a Large Urban School District" (PDF). Johns Hopkins School of Education . April 2019. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Zearn Review for Teachers | Common Sense Education". www.commonsense.org. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  4. 1 2 "Zearn Math". Evidence for ESSA. June 16, 2023.
  5. ↑ Steiner, David M. (March 2, 2023). A Nation at Thought: Restoring Wisdom in America’s Schools. Bloomsbury Publishing PLC. p. 70. ISBN   978-1-4758-6710-7.
  6. 1 2 3 Hess, Rick (February 25, 2025). "Learning Math Shouldn't Be a 'Hellish Experience'". Education Week. ISSN   0277-4232 . Retrieved September 28, 2025.
  7. ↑ Redesigning the Future of Education in the Light of New Theories, Teaching Methods, Learning, and Research. IAP. April 1, 2024. p. 87. ISBN   979-8-88730-597-4.
  8. 1 2 3 Daniel Mollenkamp (December 12, 2022). "What Is Zearn — the Math Platform the Gates Foundation Is Betting Big On?". EdSurge. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  9. ↑ Whitmire, Richard (December 7, 2016). "A 'Founders' Excerpt: How 4 Visionary Entrepreneurs Joined Forces to Launch Uncommon Schools". The 74. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  10. ↑ Klein, Alyson (October 19, 2022). "Why the Gates Foundation Is Investing $1.1 Billion in Math Education". Education Week. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  11. ↑ Hess, Rick (February 25, 2025). "Learning Math Shouldn't Be a 'Hellish Experience'". Education Week. ISSN   0277-4232 . Retrieved May 5, 2025.
  12. ↑ Redesigning the Future of Education in the Light of New Theories, Teaching Methods, Learning, and Research. IAP. April 1, 2024. p. 87. ISBN   979-8-88730-597-4.
  13. ↑ Brinda, Torsten; Passey, Don; Keane, Therese (September 30, 2020). Empowering Teaching for Digital Equity and Agency: IFIP TC 3 Open Conference on Computers in Education, OCCE 2020, Mumbai, India, January 6–8, 2020, Proceedings. Springer Nature. p. 81. ISBN   978-3-030-59847-1.
  14. ↑ Lin, Sarah Belle (March 20, 2023). "Panel for Educational Policy approves near $1M contract for controversial digital math learning program". AMNY. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
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