This Playbook describes how to implement a High-Impact Tutoring program in your district or school and why it is worthwhile to do so. First, though, it is important to define what High-Impact Tutoring is and how it differs from other less effective types of tutoring.
Research shows that High-Impact Tutoring is unusually effective for accelerating student learning. In fact it is more effective than other interventions that have been tested and is effective across grade and content levels.
The American Rescue Plan requires states to spend at least 5 percent of the money allotted for K-12 schools— about $6 billion nationwide—on helping students make up for lost instructional time. Similarly, local school districts must spend at least 20 percent of their allocation on this objective. High-impact tutoring is an evidence based strategy proven to boost academic achievement, social-emotional development, and other outcomes. While tutoring can take many forms and often includes a mentoring component, Brown University’s National Student Support Accelerator defines high-impact tutoring as “a form of teaching, one-on-one or in a small group, toward a specific goal” that supplements, but does not replace, classroom instruction.
With the return to in-person learning in sight, K-12 leaders are urgently setting priorities for the coming school year. Each spring, educators are eager to find that “just right” approach to their biggest challenges. As a former middle and high school principal, I know that’s especially true after a tough year—and no year has been tougher than this one.
For many leaders, accelerating student learning is top-of-mind, and one method that has garnered a lot of recent attention is high-impact tutoring. The National Student Support Accelerator, founded this year at the Annenberg Institute at Brown University to promote and support high-impact tutoring, defines it as one-to-one or small-group support that supplements classroom learning and complements existing curriculum by focusing on specific goals in response to individual students’ needs. This kind of tutoring is also known as “high-intensity tutoring” or “high-dosage tutoring.”
In this National Student Support Accelerator Video, we’ll walk you through an example tutoring session structure that your program can work off of to develop the session plan that will work the best for you. While every program may structure its tutoring sessions differently, certain components of any structure can be helpful to keep in mind.
In this National Student Support Accelerator Webinar, we will be discussing the ways in which your program can foster positive and constructive engagement with students’ families. By communicating effectively with families, you can increase their trust in your program – and this communication can happen through a variety of different channels.
In this National Student Support Accelerator webinar, we will be discussing how to evaluate data to improve your program as a whole. By developing standard routines for data review and having a clear understanding of what you would like to accomplish from reviewing your data, your program can consistently progress towards its goals and take note of what changes it should be making.
The Annenberg Institute received a $999,260 grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation last month to fund the National Student Support Accelerator. The NSSA research aims to strengthen and grow high-impact tutoring programs and opportunities for K-12 students nationwide. This funding will support the project for two years.
In this National Student Support Accelerator webinar, we will be discussing how your program can choose and fully utilize a blended learning software for tutoring.