Closing the Maths Gap for Students experiencing disadvantage in Australia

Matific's five-year partnership with The Smith Family is delivering up to 40% improvement in numeracy outcomes through free access to engaging, game-based maths learning

SYDNEY, May 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Matific is delivering measurable improvements in maths outcomes for Australian students experiencing disadvantage, with new data showing gains of up to 39.9% through its long-standing partnership with The Smith Family - reflecting a broader evidence base spanning 25+ peer-reviewed studies across 6 continents, all pointing to one consistent finding: improved student outcomes.

Explore Matific's proven impact: Efficacy Page

Now in its fifth year, the partnership is part of Matific's global philanthropic initiative, providing free access to its award-winning platform for students in The Smith Family's Learning for Life program. The initiative currently supports 1,200 students across Australia, helping address critical gaps in foundational numeracy.

2026 student outcomes show strong improvement across primary levels:

• Kindergarten: +21.1%
• Grade 1: +29.3%
• Grade 2: +26.8%
• Grade 3: +24.2%
• Grade 4: +39.4%
• Grade 5: +30.7%
• Grade 6: +5.0%

The results measure student progress from initial exposure to mastery across key mathematical concepts, including number sense, operations, and problem solving—demonstrating both depth of learning and sustained engagement.

The Smith Family, which supports 186,499 children and young people annually through its programs, integrates Matific into its broader educational support model, extending the reach and impact of both organisations.

"At Matific, we believe every child deserves the opportunity to succeed in maths, regardless of their background," said Allan Levenstein, Global Head of Partnerships at Matific. "Through this partnership, we're not just providing access—we're seeing real improvements in confidence, understanding, and long-term learning outcomes."

The Smith Family highlighted the importance of combining access with engagement.

"This partnership enables us to deliver meaningful, practical support to students who need it most," said Doug Taylor, CEO at The Smith Family. "Matific helps bring learning to life, building both skills and confidence in a way that resonates with our students."

By combining Matific's scalable digital learning platform with The Smith Family's community-based support, the initiative is delivering proven, data-driven impact at scale—helping more students build the foundational skills they need for future success.

About Matific

Matific is a global digital maths (Now with Financial Literacy) platform for K-12, designed to strengthen foundational numeracy through engaging, curriculum-aligned learning experiences.

The platform is intentionally built to support teachers, combining structured lesson activities, real-time learner insights, embedded formative assessment, and AI differentiated practice tools that enable instruction to be adapted across diverse and multilingual classrooms.

By combining research-based pedagogy with scalable localisation infrastructure, Matific enables education systems to deliver high-quality maths learning in students' home languages—supporting both access and measurable outcomes.

Matific currently supports over 50 languages and is used in more than 70 countries worldwide, partnering with ministries of education, NGOs, and school networks to improve foundational learning at scale.

The platform has been recognised globally for its innovation and impact, including being the winner of the Global EdTech Awards, finalist in the CODiE Awards for Best Personalised Learning Solution, and GESS Education Awards and more.

Matific's systemic approach combines:

• Pedagogy-first design (conceptual understanding, feedback, engagement)
• Localisation with cultural and linguistic accuracy
• AI Teacher enablement tools, including structured lesson alignment and real-time learner insights
• Scalability to support high-quality rollout across additional languages