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Tutoring
From Pilot to Policy: Experimental Evidence from Scaling Online Tutoring
María Calle, Lucas Gortazar, Maria Hernandez-de-Benito, Claudia Hupkau, Teresa Molina-Millán, Antonio Roldán-Monés.We study a randomized controlled trial of an online mathematics tutoring program scaled from a successful pilot and implemented entirely by regional education authorities in Spain, using interim public-school teachers rather than specially recruited tutors. Assignment to tutoring increased end-… more →
Sensemaking in the Program Stream: How Local Leaders Re-purposed the “ALL In Virginia” Policy
Topics: Policy, Politics, and GovernanceSchool and district leaders are challenged to comprehend and translate policy into practice, a process shaped by cognitive, social, and political dynamics. This study offers a conceptual analysis of Virginia's post-COVID-19 “ALL In” policy, which directed nearly half a billion dollars… more →
The Trade-off between Quality and Quantity: Evidence from a Field Experiment on Tutoring
Topics: Student LearningHigh-dosage tutoring has the potential to substantially raise adolescent academic achievement. However, at scale, schools may not have the financial ability to deliver small-group tutoring frequently. In this paper, I test the relative importance of group size (quality) versus tutoring frequency… more →
Online Tutoring, School Performance, and School-to-Work Transitions: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial
Silke Anger, Bernhard Christoph, Agata Galkiewicz, Shushanik Margaryan, Malte Sandner, Thomas Siedler.Tags: TutoringTutoring programs for low-performing students, delivered in-person or online, effectively enhance school performance, yet their medium- and longer-term impacts on labor market outcomes remain less understood. To address this gap, we conduct a randomized controlled trial with 839 secondary school… more →
Beyond the Classroom: Impact of a High-Dosage Tutoring Program on Student Literacy Achievement
Topics: Student LearningThis study examines the impact of a high-dosage tutoring program, characterized by low tutor-to-student-ratio, on the literacy achievement of students in grades two through five in a midsized suburban school district in the southeastern United States. Using a student-level randomized controlled… more →
Cheaper (and more effective) by the dozen: Evidence from 12 randomized A/B tests optimizing tutoring for scale
Topics: Student LearningOver the course of 12 rapid randomized experiments, we optimize an educational tutoring program. Tutoring is one of the most effective educational approaches yet has remained difficult to scale due to high costs. We adaptively test and improve a technology-enabled tutoring program to enhance… more →
Creating Coherence: Does Instructional Alignment Affect the Impact of Tutoring?
Topics: Student LearningThis study examines the impact of using instructionally aligned literacy tutoring with students in kindergarten through third grade under a Response to Intervention framework. We conducted a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the impact on literacy assessment scores for 296 students in four… more →
Off to a Great Start: The Potential for Tutoring Paired with the Off2Class Foundational Literacy Curriculum to Boost English Proficiency Gains for Adolescent Newcomer English Learners
Topics: Student LearningAdolescent English learners with low literacy strive to learn a new language with minimal or no reading skills. Their efforts are often complicated by having special learning needs or limited experiences with formal education. Meanwhile, they need English literacy in middle and high school,… more →
The Effect of College Entrance Exam Policies on Test Preparation and Tutoring Services
Multiple studies suggest that policies mandating college entrance exams can have positive impacts on college outcomes, especially for students who would otherwise not sit for the exam. Less understood is how families react to this increased competition for college admissions. Our study estimates… more →
When interventions don’t move the needle: Insights from null results in education research
Topics: Student LearningAs school districts focus on improving learning, they can learn not only from when and where interventions work—but also from why they sometimes do not. Policymakers widely embraced high-impact tutoring as an evidence-supported strategy to address learning delays from the COVID-19 pandemic.… more →
Investing in Human Capital During Wartime: Experimental Evidence from Ukraine
Topics: Student LearningThis paper provides insights into human capital investments during wartime by presenting evidence from three experiments of an online tutoring program for Ukrainian students amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Conducted between early 2023 and mid-2024, the experiments reached nearly 10,000… more →
The Power of Personalized Attention: Comparing Pedagogical Approaches in Small Group and One-on-One Early Literacy Tutoring
Topics: Student LearningTutoring has played a significant role in pandemic-related learning recovery, supporting student learning and engagement. A recent randomized controlled trial estimated that one-on-one virtual early literacy tutoring was nearly twice as effective as two-on-one tutoring for improving student… more →
Understanding Disruptions: Causes of and Variation in Lost Instructional Time
Topics: Student LearningVirtual instruction has boomed after the COVID-19 pandemic, including the use of virtual environments within in-person schools. But, research has provided little evidence about student experiences on these virtual platforms, nor how to improve the use of these platforms. Through natural language… more →
The Impact of Tutor Gender Match on Girls’ STEM Interest, Engagement, and Performance
Topics: Student LearningTags: TutoringGender disparities in STEM persist despite girls performing as well as boys academically, suggesting girls may benefit from role models who shape their perceptions of STEM. We examine whether female math tutors influence girls’ STEM interest, attendance, and performance. We randomly assigned 422… more →
Experimental Evidence on the Impact of Tutoring Format and Tutors: Findings from an Early Literacy Tutoring Program
Topics: Student LearningThis study presents the first within-program, within-tutor experimental evidence comparing the impact of in-person versus remote tutoring. Based on results from an early literacy tutoring initiative delivered by university students over Summer 2023, we find no statistically significant… more →
Exploring the Potentials of Outcomes-Based Contracting: Findings from Initial Implementations
Outcomes-Based Contracting (OBC) ties vendor payments to performance metrics, aiming to enhance accountability in public education. This study examines its implementation in tutoring services through the Southern Education Foundation pilot program. Interviews with district leaders and vendors… more →
The Effects of High-Impact Tutoring on Student Attendance: Evidence from a State Initiative
Topics: Student Well-BeingStudent absenteeism surged during and after the pandemic, harming engagement and achievement. We evaluate the impact of Washington DC’s High-Impact Tutoring (HIT) Initiative—designed to mitigate learning loss through targeted academic supports—on student absenteeism. Using daily attendance data… more →
Embedded Tutoring in California Community Colleges: Perspectives from the Field on a Promising Practice
Tags: Tutoring, Student supportsDrawing on qualitative data collected in a sample of colleges as part of a larger study on the implementation and impact of Assembly Bill 705 in California, this paper explores the rollout of corequisite reforms, focusing on the use of embedded tutors in introductory math and English courses as… more →
The Effect of Student-Tutor Ratios: Experimental Evidence from a Pilot Online Math Tutoring Program
Topics: Student LearningTags: Tutoring, Mathematics educationBudget constraints and limited supplies of local tutors have caused many K-12 school districts to pivot from individual tutoring in-person toward small-group tutoring online to expand access to personalized instruction. We conduct a field experiment to explore the effect of increasing student-… more →
The Effects of Virtual Tutoring on Young Readers: Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial
Topics: Student LearningTags: TutoringIn-person tutoring has been shown to improve academic achievement. Though less well-researched, virtual tutoring has also shown a positive effect on achievement but has only been studied in grade five or above. We present findings from the first randomized controlled trial of virtual tutoring… more →