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Teach For America, the organization I lead, launched a tutoring initiative in fall 2020 following research that shows that high-dose, high-quality tutoring is one of the most effective ways to combat learning loss. One study that looked at the impact of having a well-trained tutor meet three times a week with a group of up to four students found it came close to providing the equivalent of nearly five months of learning. A 2021 meta-analysis from researchers at Brown University concluded tutoring has a more significant effect on student achievement than smaller class sizes, vacation or summer classes and longer school days or years.
“Our team at the National Student Support Accelerator is thrilled to contribute to this national effort to provide students with the learning experiences that they need to engage in school and to thrive. This effort to expand high-impact tutoring really is the best opportunity we have to meaningfully improve outcomes for students across the nation,” added Susanna Loeb, Director of the National Student Support Accelerator.
The other approach pairs students with one tutor for multiple virtual sessions each week. It’s similar to the kind of “high-dosage” help that’s been shown to deliver strong results in person.
The small handful of studies that have looked at virtual tutoring during the pandemic saw promising results from this variety. But offerings vary, so it’s tough to say how many students are getting that kind, said Matthew Kraft, an associate professor of education at Brown University who’s studying tutoring initiatives.
Yes! We have much work to do to ensure high-impact tutoring is embedded in schools for all students for the long term, but we see places where it is happening. Here are three examples of high-impact tutoring programs that have been serving students for over a decade before the pandemic and continue to grow.
Last week, the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading held a national conversation about high-dosage tutoring, an evidence-based intervention for learning loss. On the panel — along with leaders from national organizations like ExcelinEd and The Education Trust — was John-Paul Smith, the executive director of the NC Education Corps, talking about state strategies to advance equitable learning recovery.
Three local universities were awarded federally supported grants totaling more than $1.5 million to start or expand “high-dosage” tutoring programs for local K-12 students in one-on-one or small group settings, according to the Ohio Department of Education.
The department said “high-dosage” tutoring is defined by the Annenberg Institute at Brown University as more than three days per week or at a rate of at least 50 hours over 36 weeks.
The US government has directed millions of dollars to K–12 education with the specific goal of getting students back on grade level after the instructional time lost during the pandemic. High-impact tutoring would be an effective use of that money.
Alan Safran is founder of Saga Education, nonprofit serving low income students through a unique approach to tutoring.
Kelly Gallagher-Mackay is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Liberal Arts at Laurier University. She believes that intentional and intensive school-embedded tutoring is key to mitigating learning impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Illinois Board of Higher Education and the Illinois State Board of Education are supporting a statewide tutoring initiative to address the learning needs of students. The Illinois Tutoring Initiative is based on High-Impact Tutoring Practices grounded in research from the National Student Support Accelerator.