Half of all successful scientific findings are being accidentally hidden by researchers using the wrong type of basic math.

Using sum scores instead of statistically aligned models in clinical trials can mask significant treatment effects. Many scientists assume that simply adding up survey results is an accurate way to measure success. This measurement error leads to non-significant findings for drugs or therapies that actually work. It suggests that the replication crisis in science might be partially caused by poor mathematical choices at the scoring stage. Correcting this one habit could double the number of effective medical breakthroughs discovered each year.