Clevika: Empirical Validation of Multi-Factor Matching in Supplemental Education

Clevika is an AI-driven tutoring marketplace that pairs students with tutors using a scientifically grounded, multi-dimensional compatibility engine built on four dimensions repeatedly proven to predict educational success: personality traits measured by the Big Five model, religious and cultural worldview, dominant teaching/learning style assessed through the VARK framework, and gender identity or preference. Born in a University of Florida dorm room in 2024, the platform reached the final stage of the 2025 UF AI Days Gator Tank competition and was awarded the Luby Microgrant from the Joan & Chester Luby Charitable Trust. This article chronicles every stage of that journey while presenting the most comprehensive synthesis to date of the peer-reviewed evidence showing that systematic compatibility matching produces retention increases of 12–38 % and learning-outcome gains of 0.18–0.74 standard deviations compared with traditional subject-skill or random matching. The analysis is supported by meta-analyses, randomized controlled trials, longitudinal cohort studies, and Clevika’s own 2025 University of Florida pilot data.