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SpringMath Exists Because One Researcher Refused to Accept Low Math Scores.

Amanda VanDerHeyden, Ph.D. has spent more than 20 years studying what it actually takes to help every student master math. SpringMath is the result.

The Researcher Behind the Program

Amanda VanDerHeyden, Ph.D., is Founder and Chief Product Officer of SpringMath Accelerate and creator of SpringMath. Her career has been devoted to one question: how do we make math instruction work for every student, in every classroom, every day?

Dr. VanDerHeyden is widely credited with developing novel approaches to academic screening, intervention, and progress monitoring. Through SpringMath Accelerate, she focuses on advancing efficient, data-driven practices that help educators improve mathematics achievement. In the 2025–26 school year alone, students using SpringMath reached mastery more than 1.4 million times.

Research That Goes Beyond the Classroom

Dr. VanDerHeyden is an internationally recognized researcher, author, and innovator in education whose expertise includes academic screening, intervention, implementation science, educational technology, and MTSS. She has published more than 100 scholarly articles and chapters and 10 books, two of which were reprinted in Korea and China. She is a sought-after presenter, delivering webinar, panel, and keynote sessions to educators and education organizations nationally and internationally.

Her honors include the Lightner-Witmer Division 16 American Psychological Association Early Career Award, the Midwest Instructional Leadership Consortium Discovery Award for Distinction in Educational Research, and articles of the year in school psychology and special education journals. 

She has served as a panel member for the National Institutes of Health and the Institute of Education Sciences at the U.S. Department of Education. She has also served as adviser and reviewer for the National Center for Learning Disabilities, National Center on Intensive Intervention, USAID, the IRIS Center, and the Dyslexia Foundation, a dozen editorial boards, and has advised state departments of education and policy groups.

Key Credentials

  • 10 Books Published
  • 100+ Peer-Reviewed Articles and Chapters
  • Presentations in 36 States and 4 Countries
  • NIH and IES Panel Member
Download Dr. VanDerHeyden’s CV Google Scholar Profile ResearchGate Profile
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Why SpringMath Is Different

Most supplemental math programs are built on assumptions. SpringMath is built on evidence: decades of peer-reviewed research, randomized controlled trials, and real-world data from thousands of classrooms.

In randomized controlled trials, students using SpringMath were half as likely to fail their state math assessments. The program holds the highest possible NCII rating for fall classification accuracy in every grade submitted.

Explore the Evidence Learn More About the Program
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Hear Dr. VanDerHeyden in Conversation With Leading Educators, Researchers, and Experts

The Science of Success Speaker series gives you a front-row seat to the latest research and evidence-based practices to improve math teaching and learning.

Watch On-Demand
Amandas-Book

Every Student's Right: The Science Behind Instruction That Works

Available in Early 2027

Dr. VanDerHeyden's new book brings together the evidence base behind SpringMath and the broader science of learning in math.

Download a Sample Chapter

Dr. VanDerHeyden's Research, Reads, and Mic Drops