5.1 Grouping Students

Grouping students strategically for high-impact tutoring can lead to powerful, more targeted instruction and provide students with what they need to succeed. Students should be grouped by academic performance data first, so that the tutoring session content and focus goals can be very specific. Section 5.1 covers student grouping strategies, protocols to support adaptation and design, and using mastery data to inform grouping decisions.

Before You Begin
Student Grouping Strategy
Key RecommendationsCorresponding Resources
  • Group students using their language needs and academic performance data (e.g., school baseline assessment data, program diagnostic data).
Checklist: Tips for Creating Data-Informed Student Groups
  • Adjust groups based on students’ personalities and learning styles (e.g., how the student collaborates and retains learning best) as secondary considerations.
Reflection Guide: Prioritizing Individualized Instruction Through Data-Informed Practices
Individualized Instruction and Regrouping
Key RecommendationsCorresponding Resources
  • Prioritize mastery data (e.g., national test results and benchmarks) to guide instructional decisions.
 
  • Set clear content goals for each group and customize session plans based on student data to ensure instruction is targeted to their specific needs.

Toolkit: Student-Tutor Goal Setting Conferences

Reflection Guide: Personalizing a Tutoring Session

  • Regularly reassess students’ skill levels with progress monitoring (e.g., exit tickets and student work) and regroup them according to student growth data.
Toolkit Section: 4.2 Responding to Formative Assessment

Planning for the Long Term
  • Reassess and regroup students periodically (e.g., every 10 weeks) based on updated mastery data, student/tutor/teacher feedback, and operational data (e.g., schedules, attendance).
  • Customize instruction for each group using data-informed goals and differentiated planning tools.
Tutoring Quality Standards and Self-Assessment Indicators

Take the free, 15-minute, and research-based Tutoring Organization Self-Assessment. This subsection addresses these tutoring quality standards and Self-Assessment indicators.

Instruction
Student Grouping		The program strategically groups students by skill level or language need to allow the tutor to deliver relevant instruction to the full group.
3a.1 | Student groupings based on student needs, tutor skill sets, and program goals
3a.2 | Planning protocols to support adaptation of session design to address student and group needs