4.1 Ensuring Program Effectiveness and Improvement

Ensuring consistent program quality and fostering continuous improvement in tutoring initiatives are crucial priorities; however, they can sometimes be overshadowed by immediate operational demands. Strong performance measures and structured improvement routines will maintain focus on student achievement goals and sustain long-term success. Building and maintaining a performance measurement plan will build a strong foundation around data-driven success. Section 4.1 focuses on setting performance measures, establishing data collection routines, and implementing continuous improvement processes.

	Before You Begin
	Establish a well-defined tutoring model grounded in research on best practices in tutoring design and translate this into a transparent logic model.

Key Metrics and Data Collection Tools
Key Recommendations	Corresponding Resources
Establish quantifiable student metrics (e.g., dosage and attendance) and student achievement (e.g., unit assessments, NWEA MAP growth, GPA improvements). Collect these metrics as a baseline and at year-end to monitor progress, at a minimum.	Reading: Recommended Student Metrics for High-Impact Tutoring Video: Webinar: How to Use Student Data to Improve K-12 Tutoring
Collect and analyze student engagement and non-academic impact measures (e.g., attendance, retention, self-efficacy, satisfaction) once a quarter, at minimum.	Examples: Data Collection Tools
Collect, analyze, and respond to feedback from a diverse group of stakeholders (e.g., families, students, tutors, and school faculty).	Examples: Data Collection Tools
Join Accelerate’s Data Alignment and Tutoring Assessment Standards (DATAS) to align your data collection to good practice.	Toolkit: DATAS Toolkit from Accelerate

Performance Measurement Plan
Key Recommendations	Corresponding Resources
Identify tutor and program effectiveness measures through your performance measurement plan (e.g., tutor engagement levels, instructional quality, Net Promoter Scores, professional development impact).	Reading: Developing a Performance Measurement Plan Template: Performance Measurement Plan (Excel Sheet Available) Example: Performance Measurement Plan
Implement a performance measurement framework to track and evaluate key outcomes consistently.	Reflection Guide: Performance Measurement Protocol for Goal Setting
Draft an agreement with partners to ensure access to necessary accountability measures using a template or previous agreement, if available.	Template: Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) (Word Document Available) Example: Data Sharing Agreement Template Template: OBC Contract Template Example: OBC High-Dosage Tutoring Exemplar Contract Toolkit: Accelerate DATAS Toolkit

Ongoing Data Review Routines
Key Recommendations	Corresponding Resources
Establish progress monitoring checkpoints at least four times per year as part of your performance measurement plan.	Reflection Guide: Developing Routines for Regular Data Review (Microsoft Word Document Available) Examples: Data Review Routines
Collaborate with school leadership to integrate tutoring assessments into existing progress monitoring cycles and align with school and district priorities for streamlined data collection.
Facilitate half-day planning sessions to refine assessment schedules and program benchmarks, incorporating feedback from post-benchmark reviews to adjust long-term instruction and tutor training needs.	Reflection Guide: Standard Data Review Protocol Reflection Guide: Student Summary Data Review Protocol
Enact continuous improvement cycles by implementing data-informed changes to enhance tutoring effectiveness and sustainability.	Reading: Using the PDCA Cycle to Support Continuous Improvement Reading: Continuous Improvement in Education

	Planning for the Long Term
	Secure data-sharing agreements and adhere to Family Education Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA) guidelines.

Tutoring Quality Standards and Self-Assessment Indicators
Take the free, 15-minute, and research-based Tutoring Provider Self-Assessment. This subsection addresses these tutoring quality standards and Self-Assessment indicators.
Data Use Program Effectiveness and Improvement	The program has demonstrated a commitment to understanding overall program effectiveness and processes for ongoing improvement.
2a.1 \| Clearly defined performance measures that define success metrics with progress monitoring indicators 2a.2 \| Clearly defined performance expectations that define benchmarks (directly aligned with Performance Measures) to be achieved by a certain date 2a.3 \| Process for continuous improvement using both qualitative and quantitative data 2a.4 \| Process for collecting, analyzing, and responding to feedback from a diverse group of stakeholders (families, students, tutors, and school faculty) 2a.5 \| Process for making adjustments to program design and instructional design based on program and student achievement data

Toolkit for Tutoring Programs