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ASSISTments is an online mathematics tool for teachers and students that is run by a nonprofit foundation. It also underpins E-TRIALS, a research testbed that lets education researchers run randomized experiments inside real classrooms. This page separates the two: the classroom product, and the research infrastructure that people searching for “ASSISTments” in a research context usually need. Facts below come from the ASSISTments and E-TRIALS websites, read on 2026-11-07.
What ASSISTments is
ASSISTments describes itself as a free online math tool for teachers and students. Students get immediate feedback and hints while they work, and teachers assign standards-aligned practice from published curricula (the site names Illustrative Math, Eureka Math and Open Up Resources) or build their own problems.
The site also states several effectiveness figures, including 73% greater growth in math scores, an ESSA Strong Evidence (Tier 1) rating, and use by more than one million students since 2019. These are the platform’s own claims; this page reports them as such and has not independently evaluated them.
Who runs it and what it covers
ASSISTments is operated by The ASSISTments Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit sponsored by Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). The classroom product covers school mathematics. The research side is a separate service, described next.
E-TRIALS: the research testbed
E-TRIALS stands for Ed Tech Research Infrastructure to Advance Learning Science Research. It grew out of a WPI initiative and supports two kinds of studies: large-scale randomized controlled trials (RCTs) delivered online to classrooms, and low-cost small-scale RCTs. The E-TRIALS site says it is one of five digital platforms funded by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) to build infrastructure that helps researchers implement studies, and that it is a free public service supported by ASSISTments at WPI and The ASSISTments Foundation. Its work is organized as Develop, Deploy and Disseminate, and its menu points to publicly available data sets, a Run a Study section, publications, and resources (FAQs, terms of use, IRB guidance and pre-registration).
How a researcher runs a study
The E-TRIALS “Run a Study: Develop” page gives the starting sequence:
- Contact the E-TRIALS team ([email protected] is the address listed on the E-TRIALS Run a Study: Develop page) to confirm that your study is eligible.
- Choose a study type (see the table below).
- Try ASSISTments yourself using two accounts, one as a teacher and one as a student, so you know what participating students will see.
- Obtain IRB approval and share it with the team before deployment (see the next section).
| Study type | What the E-TRIALS page says it does |
|---|---|
| Single Support Study | Single condition; compares hints or explanations against the platform’s “Best So Far” supports, at problem level, on one problem set. |
| Support Comparison Study | Multiple conditions of hints or explanations across multiple problem sets; uses the ASSISTments student pool, so no recruiting is needed. |
| Problem Varied Study | Multiple conditions that vary the problem content itself; E-TRIALS handles randomization, if-then-else logic and pre/post tests; you bring your own student pool. |
The navigation also lists a Common Answer Feedback Study type; check the E-TRIALS site for its description.
IRB and ethics approval
E-TRIALS states: “We require that you obtain IRB approval from your university or institute.” Researchers share the approval letter and the human subjects narrative with the team before a study is deployed. The E-TRIALS IRB page lists determinations other institutions have received (expedited review, non-human research, and exemption categories 1, 2 and 4). Treat these as examples only: your own IRB decides how your study is classified. For background, see the CASRAI entries on limited IRB review, the role of an IRB administrator, and the IRB process for psychology studies, which covers a neighbouring behavioural-research setting.
Randomization and design
Random assignment of students to conditions is the core of an E-TRIALS study. For the underlying methods, see experimental design, randomization methods and permuted block randomization. Those pages are written from a clinical-trial angle; the logic of allocation carries over, but E-TRIALS says it handles the randomization mechanics for supported study types.
Strengths and limits
- Strength: the Support Comparison design draws on the existing ASSISTments student pool, so no participant recruitment is needed (per the E-TRIALS Develop page).
- Strength: a free public service with a published IRB resource and publicly available data sets, per the E-TRIALS site.
- Limit: studies run inside ASSISTments, which is a mathematics platform, so questions outside its supported study types are outside what the testbed is documented to do.
- Limit: eligibility is confirmed with the team before you proceed; not every proposed study will fit the supported designs.
Frequently asked questions
What is ASSISTments?
An online math tool for teachers and students, operated by The ASSISTments Foundation (a nonprofit sponsored by Worcester Polytechnic Institute), that gives students immediate feedback and hints and lets teachers assign standards-aligned practice.
What is E-TRIALS?
Ed Tech Research Infrastructure to Advance Learning Science Research: a service that lets researchers run randomized trials in classrooms through ASSISTments. It is one of five digital platforms IES funded to build research infrastructure, according to its own site.
Do I need IRB approval to run a study there?
Yes. E-TRIALS requires approval from your own university or institute, and asks you to share the approval letter and human subjects narrative before deployment.
Do I have to recruit students?
It depends on the design. The Support Comparison Study uses the ASSISTments student pool; the Problem Varied Study uses your own student pool.
Where can I find the data sets and terms of use?
On the E-TRIALS site, under Data Sets and Resources.
Sources
- ASSISTments, home page: https://www.assistments.org/ (read 2026-11-07)
- ASSISTments, E-TRIALS page: https://www.assistments.org/e-trials (read 2026-11-07)
- E-TRIALS testbed: https://www.etrialstestbed.org/ (read 2026-11-07)
- E-TRIALS, IRB resource: https://www.etrialstestbed.org/resources/IRB (read 2026-11-07)
- E-TRIALS, Run a Study: Develop: https://www.etrialstestbed.org/run-a-study/develop (read 2026-11-07)
