High-impact tutoring is when a student gets extra learning time in a small group or one-on-one. Here's what it looks like:
- The student has at least three sessions every week. Each session usually lasts 30 minutes, depending on student age.
- The tutor and the student work to build a good relationship. This helps the student learn and enjoy tutoring.
- The tutor uses activities and quizzes to see how well the student is doing. This helps them figure out what to teach next.
- Tutors coordinate lessons with what the student is learning in school.
- The tutor gets quality training and support to make sure they can effectively help the student.
High-impact tutoring leads to significant improvements in a student’s learning by providing extra support alongside their regular classroom lessons. It gives the student personalized help to support what they are learning in school.
Any student can benefit from high-impact tutoring. In order to determine if high-impact tutoring is helpful for your child, ask your child and their teacher how their learning is progressing in the classroom.
Check out this Family/Caregiving and Teacher Planning tool for Family/Caregiver-Teacher Conferences to learn how families can understand how your child is progressing through the year and co-create a plan to support them.
High-impact tutoring programs are the ones that have either shown big improvements in how much students learn through research, or the program includes the things that we know help students learn faster.
Check out this short presentation that explains in more detail what makes high-impact tutoring really effective. We'll talk about seven important things (tutors, instruction, learning integration, data use, equity, safety and cohesion) and show you what things are important to ask about in your student’s high-impact tutoring program.
High-impact tutoring is not:
- Just expecting you or your child to figure out what they need for school (it's not just for finishing homework).
- Teaching your child about things that have nothing to do with what they are learning in class or using materials that are not high quality.
- Having different tutors show up inconsistently without a plan.
- Having tutors who don't get the right training and help to support your child.
Many different people can become great high-impact tutors. A high-impact tutor should know the subject well and be good at helping students learn. Teachers are usually good tutors, but other adults including paraprofessionals, college students, or tutoring company staff can be just as good and might be easier to have as tutors because it can be easier to schedule tutoring sessions and cost less.
Tutoring programs run by volunteers also help students, but usually not as much as programs with adults who are paid for tutoring.
Tell your child that high-impact tutoring is a chance for them to get special help that's just for them, so they can do really well in school. They'll meet with their tutor several times every week, which means they can also get support from another adult who can help them and cheer them on.
Communication is really important when it comes to helping your child with their tutoring. You should talk to your child about their tutoring, how they feel about their tutor, and what they're learning. When you talk to them, it shows that you're interested and that you care about how they're doing in school. You can also talk to the tutor to see if there are more ways you can help your child be successful in tutoring and school.
The National Student Support Accelerator has a lot of information about high-impact tutoring. Please use our Family and Caregiver Toolkit and explore our website to learn more about high-impact tutoring.