Developing and staffing the kind of tutoring that research has shown is most effective—often referred to as high quality, or high-impact tutoring—is complex, time-consuming, and expensive. Tutors meet with students at least three times a week, in small groups or one-on-one. Work should be targeted to a specific subject and aligned to high-quality curriculum, and should develop strong tutor-tutee relationships.
“High-impact tutoring is not homework help. They’re not sporadically dropping in,” said Carly Robinson, a senior researcher at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education who works with the National Student Support Accelerator, a group promoting research-based tutoring programs.
Experts say AI can take over some pieces of this puzzle, but there are potential pitfalls, too.
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Not every student is going to be well-served by an AI tutor, said Robinson, the Stanford researcher. Beyond these technical limitations, there’s also a big question of motivation. Would the students who are in most need of support actually use the tool as intended?
When districts have provided on-demand optional programs in recent years, most students don’t actively engage with them, she said. The kids that do take advantage of them are more likely to be higher-achieving students—not typically the demographic that schools were most hoping to reach, she added.
“Delivering a scripted curriculum that can be responsive to students’ answers is something that AI could take on. Where we might actually need a human is where it comes to the relationships and the motivation and the engagement aspects of tutoring,” Robinson said.
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