IXL's Effectiveness Now Proven in All 50 States

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Aug 19, 2025, 08:15 ET

IXL becomes the most extensively studied edtech platform in the U.S. with a portfolio of research spanning coast to coast

SAN MATEO, Calif., Aug. 19, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- What connects classrooms from New York to Nebraska? Big-city districts and rural communities? Schools with different resources but that share the same commitment to excellence?

IXL has helped their learners grow.

Used by more than 17 million students and over a million teachers, IXL is the most widely researched edtech program in the country. And today, we're announcing a major milestone: IXL's effectiveness has now been studied in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Most edtech research focuses on a few schools under ideal conditions. IXL decided to do the opposite. Our research portfolio, backed by robust third-party evaluations and internal analyses, spans nearly 80,000 schools across a wide range of demographics. Over 200 studies, including research meeting the highest standards for ESSA Tier 1 evidence, show that IXL has a significant positive impact on assessment results. Beyond test scores, research demonstrates that IXL helps build a growth mindset, improve interest and confidence in learning math, and increase high school graduation rates. If you're curious about whether IXL works in a district like yours, we've proven that it does.

"This research milestone shows that IXL isn't just widely adopted—it's incredibly effective," said Bo Bashkov, Senior Manager of Research at IXL Learning. "Whether you're closing gaps, raising proficiency rates, or trying to figure out where your students stand, the data make it clear that IXL delivers."

IXL benefits all students
When test-takers learn with IXL, they perform better on state assessments, scoring up to 15 percentile points higher in math and 17 points higher in language arts. The results are consistent across grade levels and student populations—including English learners, students receiving special education services, those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, and learners in both urban and rural settings—many of whom see equal or even greater gains with IXL compared to their peers.

Take Miami-Dade County Public Schools in Florida, the fourth-largest and one of the most diverse districts in the country. After partnering with IXL to personalize instruction and track math achievement, learners who used any amount of IXL scored considerably higher on the FAST Mathematics assessment than non-users. Those with higher and more consistent IXL usage saw their scores rise by more than nine points (Schonberg, 2024).

Up north, a study in Pennsylvania's Bethlehem Area School District found that IXL Math usage was linked to significant improvement on the PSSA (An, 2025). And across Texas, IXL improved STAAR proficiency rates by four points in math and three points in ELA in IXL cohorts compared to similar cohorts that did not use the platform (Schonberg, 2023).

Research that meets the highest standards
IXL's research is as scientifically sound as it is extensive. An independent randomized control study from Michigan, conducted by Johns Hopkins University, confirmed that IXL meets the most rigorous standards for evidence-based efficacy (Copeland, Cook, Grant & Ross, 2023). Internal analyses are built to meet ESSA Tier 2 and What Works Clearinghouse design standards, ensuring they are both well-designed and well-implemented. Additionally, many of IXL's research studies, including a three-year study in Oklahoma (Bashkov, 2021), have been conducted, vetted, or peer-reviewed by third-party organizations such as SRI, NCME and AERA.

IXL's Diagnostic predicts assessment success
Dozens of studies have confirmed the accuracy of IXL's diagnostic and shown that it reliably forecasts performance on standardized tests, such as NWEA MAP, Star, FAST/B.E.S.T., PSSA and more. For example, in an Ohio district, scores from the diagnostic correlated .85 in math and .82 in ELA with MAP Growth results (An, 2021). These strong correlations held true for English learners, students with disabilities, and the economically disadvantaged, confirming its accuracy across diverse groups of learners.

These are just a few examples of IXL's impact. See more proof for yourself at ixl.com/research.

Ready to witness the results firsthand? Visit ixl.com/membership to see how IXL can help boost achievement in your district.

About IXL
Currently used by 17 million students and 96 of the top 100 U.S. school districts, IXL is an all-inclusive educational platform providing a comprehensive PK-12 curriculum, instructional resources, actionable analytics and a state-of-the-art assessment suite. Available in over 100 languages, IXL's end-to-end teaching and learning solution supports personalized instruction in math, English language arts, science, social studies and Spanish. With more than 180 billion questions asked and answered worldwide, IXL is helping schools and parents successfully boost student achievement. The IXL Learning family of products also includes Rosetta Stone, Dictionary.com, Thesaurus.com, TPT, SpanishDictionary.com, inglés.com, FrenchDictionary.com, Wyzant, Vocabulary.com, ABCya, Education.com and Carson Dellosa Education. To learn more about IXL, visit www.ixl.com, facebook.com/IXL and x.com/IXLLearning.