Purpose: This document offers tips to help districts design and conduct effective pilot programs for tutoring initiatives. It outlines key steps to ensure programs align with goals, address challenges, and build stakeholder buy-in before scaling.
A Pilot Program is beneficial because it allows the program to:
- Start with a simple scale to find and fix the practical problems.
- Test assumptions and improve implementation around design and operations.
- Find high-value uses of resources before spending at scale.
- Provide proof points to motivate growth.
1. Defining the Pilot Population
- Select at least three schools, varying in size and demographics, to test feasibility and impact.
- Partner with schools, teachers, and caregivers eager to experiment and provide feedback on the model.
2. Establishing Clear Research Questions
- Frame specific, testable questions, such as:
- How feasible is it for tutors and teachers to plan collaboratively twice weekly?
- What academic gains do students achieve after participating in tutoring for a semester?
- Use these sentence frames from the City Bridge Pilot Plan to develop questions.
- Research Outcomes: To what extent does the pilot produce [a certain intended outcome] for [certain groups - learners, educators, etc.]? Why? How does this vary?
- Research Attitudes: To what extent do [certain groups - learners, educators, etc.] feel [a certain intended attitude (engagement, enjoyment, finding it worthwhile, etc.)] about the experience? Why? How does this vary?
- Research Feasibility: To what extent do [certain groups - educators, leaders, families, etc.] find it feasible to implement this experience effectively? Why? How does this vary?
- Identify metrics to evaluate success, including:
- Qualitative Data: Teacher, tutor, student, and family feedback on experiences
- Quantitative Data: Student performance trends and assessment scores
3. Setting a Realistic Timeline
- Choose a timeline aligned with your research questions:
- Two weeks to assess feasibility
- Two months to evaluate satisfaction among tutors, students, and teachers
- An entire semester to measure student academic outcomes
4. Collecting and Analyzing Data
- Use the pilot to document challenges and solutions.
- Monitor implementation fidelity (e.g., adherence to the planned model) and outcomes (e.g., student growth metrics).
5. Sharing Results and Planning for Scaling
- Present findings from the pilot to stakeholders, including successes and improvement areas.
- Develop a clear multi-year scope of work for scaling, informed by lessons learned during the pilot phase.
6. Monitoring Impact for Continuous Improvement
- Effective pilot programs depend on regularly monitoring impact and adapting improvements based on findings. The following questions guide school districts to gather proof of success and analyze their results.
- Student Learning & Outcomes
- In what ways have students shown progress in their academic performance or acquired new skills?
- What is the relationship between assessment results and qualitative feedback and the expected educational outcomes?
- How does student growth compare across subgroups of students?
- Program Implementation & Fidelity
- How closely do actual program activities match the planned tutoring model implementation?
- What logistical or structural barriers exist that affect the implementation process?
- Stakeholder Experience & Engagement
- What are tutors’, teachers’, and students’ perspectives on how effective the program is?
- Which extra support or resources could improve engagement levels among stakeholders?
- Feasibility & Sustainability
- Which staffing challenges or scheduling issues and resource limitations have become apparent?
- What funding issues could prevent the successful scaling of the project?
- Which collaborative relationships and infrastructure developments could help maintain sustainable progress over time?
- Student Learning & Outcomes
- Reflect on the questions above before implementing these strategies for continuous improvement:
- Create a feedback loop: Consistently acquire data and analyze results to steer necessary modifications.
- Use rapid cycles of improvement: Implement and evaluate minor changes to determine their effectiveness before complete rollout.
- Engage key stakeholders: Incorporate educators, administrators, and caregivers into reflection discussions.
- Document lessons learned: Compile records of successes and challenges to improve future planning initiatives.
Conclusion
Piloting a tutoring program before scaling enables districts to ensure the design aligns with their goals, identify implementation challenges early, and establish stakeholder buy-in. Starting small with a pilot allows districts to refine the program and ensure its feasibility before scaling.