My Pals Are Here! Mathematics:
A Study of the Effectiveness of the Instructional Resource (Bangladesh)

• Author & Publisher: Authored by Dr. Cynthia Seto (Principal Consultant, Marshall Cavendish Education) and published by the MCE Research Unit.

• Objective: Evaluate the impact of the My Pals Are Here! Mathematics (MPAH! Maths) instructional programme published by Marshall Cavendish Education (MCE) on student learning outcomes in a primary school in Bangladesh. The school has been utilizing MPAH! Maths for over two years.

• Participants: Evaluated 141 Grade 4 students and 3 Mathematics teachers; data from 128 students were included in the final quantitative analysis after excluding absentees.

• Focus Topic: Evaluated student performance on "Decimals", spanning three chapters: Understanding Decimals, 4 Operations of Decimals, and Word Problems (Chapters 10–12).

• Assessment Design: Designed by Dr. Cynthia Seto using identical 20-mark Pre-tests and Post-tests. A three-month interval was enforced between tests to eliminate the recency effect and verify true concept mastery.

• Qualitative Gathering: A Zoom focus group discussion was held with the three teachers to capture classroom insights and pedagogical feedback.

1. Pass Rate Increase: Student pass rates surged from 15% on the Pre-test to 91% on the Post-test—an increase of 76 percentage points.

2. Mean Score Growth: Average student scores improved nearly threefold, rising from 5.84 / 20 to 14.92 / 20.

3. Exceptional Effect Size: Achieved a Cohen’s d effect size of 2.52, shifting an average student from the 50th percentile to the 99th percentile.

4. Breakthrough Among Struggling Students: 5% of students who failed the Pre-test scored full marks (20/20) on the Post-test.

5. Teacher Insights: Teachers attributed success to the structured MPAH! Maths Teacher's Guide, concrete-pictorial visual models (place value charts, number lines, number discs), bite-sized guided practice, and digital tools on MCEduhub.

Headline: Pedagogical Scaffolding That Empowers Teachers and Students

Feedback gathered during teacher focus group discussions highlighted key elements behind the learning breakthrough:

1. Structured Teacher's Guides
"I followed the MPAH! Maths Teacher’s Guide closely to teach the various concepts. I also used the digital resources and templates; they were very useful."
— Participating Mathematics Teacher.

2. Concrete-Pictorial Visual Representations
Hands-on pair work with number discs, place value charts, and number lines helped students make sense of abstract decimal values.

3. Progressive Guided Practice
Bite-sized practice problems built student confidence step by step, enabling them to solve complex word problems.

4. Blended Digital Support
Interactive tools on MCEduhub seamlessly complemented physical textbook lessons.