While many people talk about the importance of tutoring, people have questions about what makes tutoring “high-impact.” This High-Impact Tutoring Toolkit, developed by the National Student Support Accelerator and Innovate Public Schools is designed to help families understand and advocate for high-impact tutoring.
High-impact tutoring is when a student gets extra learning time in a small group or one-on-one from a consistent, trained tutor as part of their school day. High-impact tutoring is often confused with “homework help” or reteaching, but neither of those leads to the same learning growth as high-impact tutoring. High-impact tutoring helps students learn the skills they need to become independent learners.
Benefits for Students
Research shows that high-impact tutoring results in 4 to 15 months of additional learning.1 Tutors give students personalized help to support what they are learning in school. Students who participate in high-impact tutoring can make big improvements in their schoolwork and how they feel about themselves. This helps them not just in school, but in life as they grow up.
When families understand how their child is experiencing tutoring, the tutoring is even more powerful in supporting student learning.
1 Nickow, A., Oreopoulos, P., & Quan, V. (2020). The Impressive Effects of Tutoring on PreK-12 Learning: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Experimental Evidence. National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series(w27476).
What is High-Impact Tutoring?
- Extra learning time is in a small group or 1:1.
- Tutoring happens at least three times per week, each usually lasting 30 minutes (depends on child’s age).
- The tutor and child build a good relationship. This helps them learn and enjoy tutoring.
- Tutors use activities and quizzes to check how the student is doing. This helps tutors figure out what to teach next.
- Tutoring is aligned with what the student is learning in school.
- Tutors get quality training and support.
