Regardless of whether you chose to partner with an external provider or Build Your Own high-impact tutoring program, implementation decisions remain the same. High-impact tutoring can be widely customized while maintaining the pillar characteristics that create student impact. Conducting regular data reviews and making actionable, data-driven decisions based on the program’s initial vision and goals will help embed your tutoring program as a vital and enduring part of your district.
The content is organized into five components:
- 6.1 Identifying Schools: This section provides considerations for school selection criteria and the creation of a school communication plan.
- 6.2 Selecting Students: This section guides difficult decisions regarding student population prioritization and student selection criteria to determine students who will benefit most from high-impact tutoring.
- 6.3 Scheduling Sessions: This section shares effective practices in scheduling, district-wide scheduling guidance, and integration with multi-tiered systems of support to set up high-impact tutoring within the school day.
- 6.4 Boosting Enrollment and Attendance: This section helps you set the groundwork for successful attendance, two-way communication, data tracking and analysis, and attendance initiatives to encourage students to receive the necessary support for success.
- 6.5 Building in Continuous Improvement: This section has recommendations and resources regarding data reviews and sustainability planning to produce desired outcomes ensure high-impact tutoring becomes an integrated intervention in your district.
Research Insights
Research provides the following guidance to create effective tutoring programs:
6.1 Identifying Schools
- Selecting schools with high-need populations and strong community engagement increases program success. Tutoring interventions primarily aim to improve literacy and math outcomes, with similar effectiveness across both subjects. The impact of tutoring varies by grade level, with one-to-one tutoring being particularly effective for elementary reading achievement. When led by trained personnel, small group tutoring also positively influences literacy and math performance. There is limited research on tutoring in other subjects, such as science and social studies, or on programs targeting overall learning rather than specific subjects.
6.2 Selecting Students
- Student Prioritization: Three main models for prioritizing students for tutoring are needs-driven, curriculum-driven, and universal. Decisions about which students to target should vary depending on the needs of the students, schools, and communities.
- Prioritizing students based on academic performance, absenteeism, and teacher recommendations leads to better outcomes. A systematic selection process ensures equitable access to high-impact tutoring.
6.3 Scheduling Sessions
- Scheduling tutoring sessions during the school day, particularly when integrated with MTSS frameworks, enhances attendance and effectiveness. Paraprofessionals, when trained appropriately, are effective in delivering tutoring.
6.4 Boosting Enrollment and Attendance
- High-impact tutoring has the potential to enhance various student outcomes beyond academic improvement, including attendance. Tutoring can lead to better attendance for the cohort of tutored students by increasing student engagement and motivation. Further research needs to be conducted to conclusively determine the impact of tutoring on attendance rates; however, early studies note an impact. Furthermore, opt-out models are recommended because opt-in educational resources have been found to reduce the uptake of high-impact tutoring services and can increase inequity.
6.5 Building in Continuous Improvement
- Embedding continuous improvement practices ensures program fidelity. Data collection, regular review cycles, and adaptive strategies based on performance outcomes are critical.
Read the Full Research
Kraft, M. A., & Falken, G. (2021). Paraprofessionals as high-impact tutors: Opportunities and guidance. EdWorkingPapers. Retrieved from https://edworkingpapers.com/sites/default/files/ai21-490.pdf
Lee, Monica G., Susanna Loeb, and Carly D. Robinson. (2024). Effects of High-Impact Tutoring on Student Attendance: Evidence from the OSSE HIT Initiative in the District of Columbia. (EdWorkingPaper: 24 -1107). Retrieved from Annenberg Institute at Brown University: https://doi.org/10.26300/wghb-4864
National Student Support Accelerator. (n.d.). Challenges and solutions implementing tutoring at scale. Retrieved from https://studentsupportaccelerator.org/sites/default/files/Accelerator_Research_Agenda.pdf
National Student Support Accelerator. (n.d.). Integrating high-impact tutoring with multi-tiered systems of support. Retrieved from https://studentsupportaccelerator.org/sites/default/files/Integrating%20High-Impact%20Tutoring%20with%20MTSS.pdf
Robinson, C. D., Kraft, M. A., Loeb, S., & Schueler, B. (2024). Design principles for accelerating student learning with high-impact tutoring (EdResearch for Action Brief No. 30). Annenberg Institute at Brown University. https://studentsupportaccelerator.org/sites/default/files/EdResearch%20Accelerating%20Student%20Learning%20With%20High-Impact%20Tutoring.pdf
Robinson, Carly D., Biraj Bisht, and Susanna Loeb. (2022). The inequity of opt-in educational resources and an intervention to increase equitable access. (EdWorkingPaper: 22 -654). Retrieved from Annenberg Institute at Brown University: https://doi.org/10.26300/ja2n-ys82
Robinson, C. D., & Loeb, S. (2021). High-impact tutoring: State of the research and priorities for future learning. (EdWorkingPaper: 21-384). Annenberg Institute at Brown University. https://doi.org/10.26300/qf76-rj21
Tutoring Quality Standards
High-quality tutoring programs align with key standards that support effective implementation and student success. Learn more about the research and application of the tutoring quality standards relevant to this section: