Research Studies

This tool allows education practitioners and researchers to quickly access quantitative research on tutoring program effectiveness. These 150+ research studies were selected due to their rigorous research designs which align with What Works Clearinghouse and Every Student Succeeds Act standards for moderate and strong evidence of intervention efficacy. Many studies were originally identified by their inclusion in recent meta-analyses (Baye et al., 2018; Neitzel et al., 2021; Nickow et al., 2020). Research may be sorted by grade level, subject, and tutor type in order to explore the evidence base for particular program designs. This database does not include qualitative research on best practices for tutoring implementation, for which we recommend exploring our District Playbook and Toolkit for Tutoring Programs.

Displaying 1 - 30 of 165

A Scalable Approach to High-Impact Tutoring for Young Readers: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial. ( ). Cortes, K. E., Kortecamp, K., Loeb, S., & Robinson, C. D.. Learning and Instruction. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2024.102021

Effects of High-Impact Tutoring on Student Attendance: Evidence from the OSSE HIT Initiative in the District of Columbia. ( ). Lee, M.G., Loeb, S., & Robinson, C.D.. EdWorkingPapers.com. https://doi.org/10.26300/wghb-4864

The Effects of Virtual Tutoring on Young Readers: Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial. ( ). Robinson, C.D., Pollard, C., Novicoff, S., White, S., & Loeb, S.. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis. https://doi.org/10.3102/01623737241288845

Tutor CoPilot: A Human-AI Approach for Scaling Real-Time Expertise. ( ). Wang, R. E., Ribeiro, A. T., Robinson, C. D., Loeb, S., & Demszky, D.. National Student Support Accelerator

Answering the call: How changes to the salience of job characteristics affects college students’ decisions. ( ). Robinson, C.D., Meyer, K., Bailey-Fakhoury, C., Zandieh, A., & Loeb, S.. https://doi.org/10.26300/3gr7-1476

Business Not as Usual: Understanding Factors for Organizational Change after a Crisis. ( ). Lu, A., Loeb, S., & Waymack, N.

The Effects of In-School Virtual Tutoring on Student Reading Development: Evidence from a Short-Cycle Randomized Controlled Trial. ( ). Ready, D. D., McCormick, S.G. & Shmoys, R.J.. EdWorkingPapers.com. https://doi.org/10.26300/569p-wz78

Scaling High-impact tutoring: School Level Perspectives on Implementation Challenges and Strategies. ( ). Makori, A., Burch, P., & Loeb, S.. EdWorkingPapers.com. https://doi.org/10.26300/h8z5-t461

A Systematic Review of Research on Tutoring Implementation: Considerations when Undertaking Complex Instructional Supports for Students. ( ). White, S., Groom-Thomas, L., & Loeb, S.. EdWorkingPapers.com. https://doi.org/10.26300/wztf-wj14

The inequity of opt-in educational resources and an intervention to increase equitable access. ( ). Robinson, C. D., Bisht, B., & Loeb, S.. EdWorkingPapers.com. https://doi.org/10.26300/ja2n-ys82

The Impressive Effects of Tutoring on PreK-12 Learning: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Experimental Evidence. ( ). Nickow, A.J., Oreopoulos, P., & Quan, V.. EdWorkingPapers.com. https://doi.org/10.26300/eh0c-pc52

Improving working memory Evaluation report and executive summary. ( ). Wright, W. Dorsett, R., Anders, J., Buzzeo, J, Runge, J., & Sanders, M.. London: Education Endowment Foundation. https://westminsterresearch.westminster.ac.uk/item/qxvvq/improving-working-memo…

Evaluation Report. ( ). Nunes, T., Malmberg, L., Evans, D., Sanders-Ellis, D., Baker, S., Barros, R., Bryant, P., & Evangelou, M.. London: Education Endowment Foundation

Does an integrated focus on fractions and decimals improve at-risk students’ rational number magnitude performance?. ( ). Malone, A. S., Fuchs, L. S., Sterba, S. K., Fuchs, D., & Foreman-Murray, L.. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 59, 101782. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED595127

Using moderator analysis to identify the first-grade children who benefit more and less from a reading comprehension program: A step toward aptitude-by-treatment interaction. ( ). Fuchs, D., Kearns, D. M., Fuchs, L. S., Elleman, A. M., Gilbert, J. K., Patton, S., ... & Compton, D. L.. Exceptional children. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0014402918802801

A multi-sensory tutoring program for students atrisk of reading difficulties: Evidence from a randomized field experiment. ( ). Bøg, M., Dietrichson, J., & Aldenius, A.. Working Paper. https://ideas.repec.org/p/hhs/ifauwp/2019_007.html

Replication of an experimental study investigating the efficacy of a multisyllabic word reading intervention with and without motivational beliefs training for struggling readers. ( ). Toste, J. R., Capin, P., Williams, K. J., Cho, E., & Vaughn, S.. Journal of Learning Disabilities. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0022219418775114

A Multisite Randomized Controlled Trial of the Effectiveness of Descubriendo la Lectura. ( ). Borman, G. D., Borman, T. H., Park, S. J., & Houghton, S.. American Educational Research Journal. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3102/0002831219890612

Effects of the TutorBright tutoring programme on the reading and mathematics skills of children in foster care: A randomised controlled trial. ( ). Hickey, A., & Flynn, R.. Oxford Review of Education, 45, 519–537. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2019.1607724

Efficacy of a Word- and Text-Based Intervention for Students With Significant Reading Difficulties. ( ). Vaughn, S., Roberts, G. J., Miciak, J., Taylor, P., & Fletcher, J. M.. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 52(1), 31–44. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022219418775113

Evaluation of a math intervention program implemented with community support. ( ). Parker, D. C., Nelson, P. M., Zaslofsky, A. F., Kanive, R., Foegen, A., Kaiser, P., & Heisted, D.. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 12(3), 391–412. https://doi.org/10.1080/19345747.2019.1571653

Effectiveness of an extracurricular program for struggling readers: A comparative study with parent tutors and volunteer tutors. ( ). Villiger, C., Hauri, S., Tettenborn, A., Hartmann, E., Näpflin, C., Hugener, I., & Niggli, A.. Learning and Instruction, 60, 54–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2018.11.004

Effectiveness of an extracurricular program for struggling readers: A comparative study with parent tutors and volunteer tutors Learning and Instruction. ( ). Villiger, C., Hauri, S., Tettenborn, A., Hartmann, E., Näpflin, C., Hugener, I., & Niggli, A.. Learning and Instruction, 60, 54–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2018.11.004

1stClass@Number Evaluation report and executive summary. ( ). Nunes, T., Barros, R., Evangelou, M., Strand, S., Mathers, S., & Sanders-Ellis, D. . London: Education Endowment Foundation

Tutor Trust: Affordable Primary Tuition. ( ). Torgerson, C. J., Bell, K., Coleman, E., Elliott, L., Fairhurst, C., Gascoine, L., Hewitt, C.E., & Torgerson, D. J. . London: Education Endowment Foundation. https://dro.dur.ac.uk/26952/1/26952.pdf

Examining the Effects and Feasibility of a Teacher-Implemented Tier 1 and Tier 2 Intervention in Word Reading, Fluency, and Comprehension. ( ). Solari, E. J., Denton, C. A., Petscher, Y., & Haring, C.. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 11(2), 163–191. https://doi.org/10.1080/19345747.2017.1375582

The Impacts of Reading Recovery at scale: Results from the 4-year i3 external evaluation. ( ). Sirinides, P., Gray, A., & May, H.. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3102/0162373718764828

Benefits of structured after-school literacy tutoring by university students for struggling elementary readers. ( ). Lindo, E. J., Weiser, B., Cheatham, J. P., & Allor, J. H.. Reading & Writing Quarterly. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10573569.2017.1357156

Read Two Impress and the Neurological Impress Method: Effects on elementary students’ reading fluency, comprehension, and attitude. ( ). Young, C., Pearce, D., Gomez, J., Christensen, R., Pletcher, B., & Fleming, K.. The Journal of Educational Research. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00220671.2017.1393650?forwardServic…

Strengthening Children’s Math Skills with Enhanced Instruction The Impacts of Making Pre-K Count and High 5s on Kindergarten Outcomes. ( ). Mattera, S., Jacob, R., & Morris, P. . MDRC. https://www.mdrc.org/publication/strengthening-children-s-math-skills-enhanced-…