Part of the AIMS Collaboratory, the NYC Partnership for Math Equity brought together NYU Metro's Center for Policy, Research and Evaluation, NYC Public Schools, Amplify, and the Research Alliance, with support from the Gates Foundation, to investigate the potential for digital math tools to disrupt unequal access to high-quality math instruction and foster engagement, belonging, and positive math identities in the middle grades.

The mixed-methods study examined how teachers in 29 New York City schools used digital lessons from Amplify Desmos Math as a supplement to core instruction. The study found that students and teachers viewed the lessons as supporting math understanding and engagement, fostering peer collaboration, and facilitating rich classroom math discourse. Findings also suggest that students who perceived more opportunities to belong in their math classrooms experienced more growth in math engagement, enjoyment, belonging, and identity.

The full report describes the study design, key findings, and implications for future research and practice.