New lessons about how to deploy tutoring
Tutoring has been the focus of learning-recovery initiatives following the pandemic, but many districts have struggled to sustain the labor-intensive and expensive intervention after federal recovery grants ended, and others have seen minimal effects from the programs, largely due to implementation challenges. That reality has pushed districts to reconsider not just whether tutoring works, but when it works best.
Emerging evidence on Ignite Reading and similar programs suggests virtual tutoring can be as effective as in-person tutoring at filling basic literacy skills gaps, though not always less costly. The nonprofit National Student Support Accelerator, which studies tutoring models, estimates high-intensity in-person tutoring programs typically cost $1,000 to $3,000 per student, with some programs topping $4,000 per student. Ignite Reading averages $2,500 per student, including technology and staff support.
Researchers say the key lesson may be timing. Districts still must be willing to invest money, time, and support for the intervention during the “critical window” of early reading development, rather than focusing on remediation at later grades.
Tutoring is expensive, so it makes more sense for schools to focus it on emerging readers rather than using it only later, for remediation, said Amanda Neitzel, a senior researcher an assistant research professor at Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Research and Reform in Education. “The hope is, long-term, if kids are reading proficiently, there’ll be other savings in the system that make up for this.”
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