There is a temptation in education to abandon projects rapidly and instead chase a new solution as a magic bullet for improving student outcomes. Too often, when an investment doesn’t have an instant payoff, it’s abandoned for the next shiny thing. New programs, new technology, new slogans, each promising to fix what came before it. But the truth is, no new solution will ever pay off without doing the hard, steady work of diagnosing problems and mastering the fundamentals.
In the post-COVID era, tutoring has faced criticism for mixed results following significant investments to address learning loss. This comes despite a significant body of research that shows high-dosage tutoring yields, on average, a learning gain of one-third of a grade level per year, with the potential for a full extra year of learning over three years.
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Christina’s experience as school superintendent in Washington, D.C. shows what can happen when clear recipes, accurate measurements and the right ingredients are built in from the start. From day one, every dollar invested in D.C.’s high-impact tutoring initiative was backed by a carefully designed research and evaluation framework — not just to measure academic progress, but to track attendance and social-emotional growth as well. By forging strong partnerships with top researchers and treating evidence as essential, not optional, the district was able to see and respond to real-time results. Student “pulse check” surveys — administered periodically throughout the program — showed consistently positive, and in some cases improving, ratings of their relationships with tutors and sense of belonging at school.
Early findings showed that students who participated in tutoring not only exceeded their expected growth by an additional 44%, but also attended several more days of school than peers who were not tutored — a breakthrough for children most at risk of chronic absenteeism. Focusing on the fundamentals of implementation and measurement paid huge dividends, allowing D.C. to truly understand the wide-ranging impacts of the tutoring program. It was a big bet on students, but one anchored in research and built on a foundation of ongoing data collection and continuous improvement. This wasn’t about chasing the latest trend; it was about weaving research and practice together so that every step could be measured, continuously improved and ultimately scaled to reach more students.
Programs that deliver real results do the disciplined, unglamorous work of implementation: scheduling tutoring during the school day rather than after hours; providing tutors with real training and support; tracking attendance and participation daily; and solving logistical problems as soon as they emerge.
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