Goblins vs. MATHia
Why we built Goblins
Goblins lets students speak and draw to learn math. That lets Goblin, the tutor, pinpoint exactly where mistakes and misconceptions arise. MATHia's third hint hands the student the answer. Goblin never does, no matter how long the problem takes. The Gates Foundation funds Goblins.
“It's a little me in the computer. And it's like telling them, guiding them, questioning their thought processes. ... You have automatic homework help built into the program. And it's so powerful.”
Bobbye Graboyes · 26-year math teacher
“They can't just look on somebody else's screen and put an answer down. They can't Google it somewhere and just put an answer down. They actually have to understand what they're doing in order to move on.”
Renee Schuch · 6th Grade Math · Deer Valley
“When they're doing the questions in Goblins, it's like I'm sitting there helping them. ... I can go into Goblins and I can look at literally the history of every question to see what the back and forth was.”
Rich Grell · HS Math Teacher, 22 yrs
Why not just use MATHia?
MATHia's marketed 'nearly doubled growth' is one student group inside a near-zero overall. The landmark RAND trial tested Carnegie's blended curriculum, textbook and workbook and software together, in 73 high schools. Across three studies of 20,485 students, Evidence for ESSA's weighted average lands at +0.04, essentially zero, and the marketed 'nearly doubled growth' is one second-year group at +0.21 inside that overall, which means the remaining groups averaged out to nothing. Education researchers treat effects under 0.05 standard deviations as small, and RAND itself could not say whether the software or other factors, such as teaching methods, sample, or textbooks, explained the results.
And however sharp the adaptivity, MATHia reads answers, not students. It adapts the next problem from clicks and typed input. It cannot hear a student reason or watch them write. When a student gets stuck, Carnegie's own support docs explain that the third hint, the bottom-out hint, reveals the answer, because in Carnegie's words “the best way to learn is not to flail, but to have the answer and continue moving forward.” Goblins makes the opposite bet. Goblin asks what the student was thinking and teaches on the canvas until the student can do the step alone.
- Teachers in Common Sense Education's community reviews describe lessons that repeat endlessly without tracking what students actually understand, and students who rush through without retaining the material.
- The same reviews report small errors forcing restarts, anxiety as the progress bar drops, and students paying classmates to finish MATHia assignments.
- Word problems gate on reading, not math. Carnegie ran a 12,374-student trial rewriting MATHia's word problems for emerging readers and multilingual learners.
Thousands of Teachers ❤️ Goblins
"A kid who'd never do homework is now 100% in my class."
Rich Grell
HS Math Teacher, 22 yrs
"A little me in the computer, guiding them. So powerful."
Bobbye Graboyes
26-year math teacher
"They can't just Google it. They have to actually understand."
Renee Schuch
6th Grade Math · Deer Valley
"Stuck? It walks them back two chapters, then builds them up."
Rich Grell
HS Math Teacher, 22 yrs
"I can't split into 30. Goblins is 30 of me."
Bobbye Graboyes
26-year math teacher
"It forces them to fill the gaps and prove their work."
Renee Schuch
6th Grade Math · Deer Valley
"Like I'm sitting with every kid, and I can see who's faking it."
Rich Grell
HS Math Teacher, 22 yrs
"She did every Goblins assignment and aced the makeup."
Bobbye Graboyes
26-year math teacher
"I see who's stuck in real time and pull them aside."
Renee Schuch
6th Grade Math · Deer Valley
"The AI's on every question when I can't reach everyone."
Kaleb Bembenek
7th Grade Math
"I'd love to move my teachers from Study Island to this."
Carol Howe
Principal · Sharpsville Area HS
"It breaks down every misconception in real time."
Jenn Tifft
Math & Science
"It reaches every student I can't get to in person."
Rebecca Mello
Algebra I & II
"My kids customize the goblin to look like them."
Kaleb Bembenek
7th Grade Math
"I'd love to move my teachers from Study Island to this."
Carol Howe
Principal · Sharpsville Area HS
"It breaks down every misconception in real time."
Jenn Tifft
Math & Science
"It reaches every student I can't get to in person."
Rebecca Mello
Algebra I & II
Frequently asked questions
MATHia's LiveHint AI is a generative text chat trained on Carnegie's math content. Students type and it types back. It doesn't watch a student write or listen to them reason out loud, it tutors the math a student can type, not the math they actually write. Goblin listens to the student reason out loud, watches the pencil strokes as they happen, and answers by drawing visuals and mini lessons next to the problem.
MATHia's independent evidence averages out to essentially zero, and the 'nearly doubled growth' in the marketing came from a single second-year student group. Even that result measured Carnegie's whole blended curriculum, textbook and workbook included, not the software alone.
Teachers reviewing MATHia on Common Sense Education report lessons that repeat endlessly without keeping track of what students actually understand.
- The repetition pushes students to rush through without retaining the material.
- Small errors can force a student to start over.
- Students describe anxiety watching the progress bar drop, and some pay classmates to finish MATHia assignments for them.
Goblins goes the other way. A miss opens a conversation with Goblin instead of a longer grind.
MATHia has no published 2026 price list. Carnegie sells by quote.
- Evidence for ESSA lists the blended work-text plus software at about $35 per student per year, and third-party listings run up to about $45 per unit, unconfirmed.
- The same sources put professional development at $3,000 a day for initial training and $2,500 a day for coaching, unconfirmed.
Goblins is free for teachers, so trying it costs a class period, not a purchase order.
Yes. The live classroom view shows every student's work as it happens, so you know who is stuck this minute and can pull a small group on the spot. You also get session replays of the written work and the full tutor conversation for every problem. MATHia's LiveLab dashboard shows progress bars and at-risk flags, not the reasoning behind them.
Goblins is free for teachers, with 15 live help-enabled problems per student each month, worksheet uploads, standards-aligned assignments, and teacher avatars included, no credit card. Goblins Max, priced per school or district, makes live help unlimited and adds standards and engagement reporting.
Goblins supports whatever language your students think in. We never cap it at a number, students speak and draw in their language and Goblin keeps up, and we add new languages whenever a classroom asks.
Yes. Goblins complies with COPPA, FERPA, and student data privacy laws in all 50 states.
Weighing other options? See how Goblins compares.
Or see how schools run Goblins across intervention tiers in our MTSS math guide.