What is the most important variable in high-impact tutoring?
The humans in the school building.
Not the platform. Not the model. Not the contract.
The human who makes sure a student gets to their session. The human who notices when the student isn’t progressing and asks why. The human who, on a Wednesday morning when everything else is pulling at them, still notices the quiet grimace of a student who doesn’t understand, and offers another way in.
A new study by Stanford researchers Hsiaolin Hsieh, David Gormley, Carly D. Robinson, and Susanna Loeb suggests why one-on-one tutoring has been found to produce double the gains in student learning than two-on-one tutoring.
Analyzing 16,629 transcripts from 2022-23 school year tutoring sessions from an earlier study that established the greater gains under one-on-one tutoring, the researchers examined how tutors allocated their time and attention across both one-on-one and two-on-one formats. The tutoring sessions focused on early literacy and served kindergarten through second grade students, with 510 students receiving one-on-one tutoring and 570 students receiving two-on-one tutoring. All students met with their tutor online for 20 minutes during the school day, four times per week.
Here are some ways Shoelace Learning specifically addresses gaps in adolescent learning:
Adaptive, individualized support: Shoelace uses an initial placement assessment, tracks reading comprehension levels (RCLs), and then adapts the content to each student’s current level and needs. For example, they support readers from grades 3–8 who may still have gaps in comprehension.
EduRaptor provides high-impact, personalized K–12 tutoring designed to accelerate student learning in Literacy and Math. Our program is built on the Science of Reading, state-aligned math standards, and MTSS frameworks to deliver targeted support that addresses each student’s unique needs. Tutoring is delivered virtually by certified, experienced teachers in either 1:1 or small-group formats. Each student begins with a pre-assessment to identify strengths and gaps, and progress is continuously monitored through formative checks and data dashboards accessible to schools and families.
StudentNest partners with agencies nationwide to deliver high-impact, equitable, ESSA-aligned tutoring that accelerates learning and closes opportunity gaps. We have provided research-based, individualized and small-group instruction in reading, ELA, math, and specialized support for Students with Disabilities and English Learners. Through trained tutors using data-driven, standards-aligned lessons, StudentNest offers flexible in-person, virtual, and hybrid models to meet the diverse needs of all learners.
Our Impact
Two studies from Stanford University’s National Student Support Accelerator released Wednesday used natural language processing technologies to review transcripts from tens of thousands of hours of virtual tutoring sessions. Their goal: to better understand exactly what happens between tutors and students in these sessions.
One study examines the impact of disruptions as revealed through tutor comments, such as “You can’t see me? I’m not sure why you can’t see me” or “Sorry. Did you say something? It was hard to hear.”
Researchers found that 19% of available time was lost to disruptions, whether from technological issues, distracted students, or background noise. Time lost to disruptions was even greater when tutors were working with more than one student, especially if one of the students entered the session late.
As education researchers, we hear directly from district leaders about the realities they and their teams face every day. Leading a school district means weighing competing priorities and managing resources, while finding space for new ideas that promise to strengthen teaching and learning.
Each of these efforts has value and reflects a commitment to improvement. Yet amid the churn of initiatives, it’s worth remembering the strategies that have been proven to work time and again.
Tutoring is one of those strategies. Far from a passing trend that fades after a year, high-impact tutoring is a unicorn in the oft-changing tides of education reform: it is both a centuries-old, pedagogically sound and educator-approved way to teach children, and it’s an approach proven by hundreds of rigorous studies over decades.
Study Smart Tutors implements a High-Impact Tutoring (HIT) program designed to accelerate student learning and enhance academic outcomes through supplemental instruction of specific standards-based skills and concepts across all grade levels. The program offers personalized, intensive tutoring in small groups or one-on-one settings.
ACLC Tutoring provides virtual tutorial services in math and other subject areas to students in grades K-12. The program uses research-based, data-driven instructional tools, primarily the IXL online platform, to deliver individualized and small group instruction. Services include Science of Reading methodology for literacy, systematic phonics instruction, and Orton-Gillingham-based approaches. The program emphasizes consistent tutor assignment, comprehensive assessment, and strong relationships with all stakeholders in a student's educational ecosystem.
1:1 intervention supports are provided to students at least twice a week with one hour sessions each time. Services can be provided in person or online. Materials are rooted in structured literacy and the Orton-Gillingham approach.