Implementation

NSSA 2023 Conference

Join this invitation-only gathering of researchers, district, state, and higher education leaders, tutoring providers, and funders to:

  • Learn about implications of recent research findings and innovative and sustainable practices in tutoring;
  • Explore successful state and district strategies for scaling and sustainability; and
  • Make connections with education leaders in the field.

“This is most likely to happen if parents both want this and believe that they can get this – and deserve to get this – at school,” says Susanna Loeb, a professor of education at Stanford University in California. 

Amid the flurry of activity in recent years, researchers and policy advocates are increasingly pointing to a specific kind of tutoring as the most effective. Known as “high-impact” or “high-dosage,” it generally refers to tutoring that happens at least three times a week for 30-minute sessions with groups of four or fewer students. And if it occurs during the regular school day? Even better.


The high-impact tutoring provider wins large district and state partnerships to address the literacy and numeracy crisis among K-8 students

Building on its success within New York City Public Schools, the largest school district in the country, Braintrust Tutors is now well-positioned to extend support to tens of thousands of high-risk students in the Los Angeles Unified School District, Boston Public Schools, Detroit Public Schools Community District, and across the state of Tennessee.


High-impact tutoring is one of the most promising approaches for increasing student engagement and learning. Paraprofessionals already in schools can be excellent tutors during the school day if well supported with instructional materials and dedicated time for tutoring. This approach effectively addresses student academic gaps early, particularly in lower elementary classrooms. 

The District of Columbia (DC) Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) launched a three-year, $33 million investment in scaling and supporting high-impact tutoring (HIT) across DC, with a particular focus on students classified as “at-risk” or having experienced disrupted instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic. This investment is a core part of the city’s strategy to address interrupted schooling, given the strong body of evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of HIT as an intervention that can produce dramatic gains in student learning.

High-Impact Tutoring: Family & Caregiver Toolkit for School Districts
New Mexico education Secretary Arsenio Romero discussed tutoring with Stanford University researcher Susanna Loeb at a May conference.

In the admirable rush to support students in the wake of pandemic-era learning loss, schools quickly implemented tutoring initiatives—with varying degrees of success.

Luckily, studies show that students who participate in high-impact tutoring can experience more than 40% and 200% of growth in reading and math proficiency, respectively. Meanwhile, K-12 leaders say this form of tutoring is increasing teacher retention and recruitment in their districts.

In this webinar, education leaders will hear first-hand accounts of successful high-impact tutoring models from a district’s chief academic officer. Also, field research experts from institutions, including Stanford University, and professionals who collaborate directly with district decision-makers will present case studies and stats on how to sustain high-impact tutoring to make a lasting effect on student learning, school culture, and educator job satisfaction.


Research consistently shows that tutoring helps students learn, with numerous studies confirming its strong benefits. Driven by this evidence, policymakers and educational leaders nationwide are investing in tutoring initiatives. However “tutoring” can mean various types of educational support, and tutoring programs can differ significantly in their characteristics and effectiveness.


What led to the rapid spread and adoption of tutoring as a solution? What will it take to bring tutoring to the scale? And what can the science of advocacy teach us about how other policy ideas might follow a similar path? In this AdvocacyLabs webinar, FutureEd Policy Director Liz Cohen will moderate a discussion with panelists including Stanford University Professor Susanna Loeb, JerseyCAN Executive Director Paula White, and 50CAN CEO Marc Porter Magee.


Less than a third of Colorado eighth-graders score proficiently in math. So, Colorado has invested heavily in high-impact tutoring programs — $20 million allocated in federal and state dollars since the pandemic. Colorado was also one of five states to get a $1 million grant from Accelerate, a nonprofit that aims to make 


Cignition, a K-12 virtual tutoring provider, today announced the formation of a new advisory board. Comprised of eight experts from school districts and universities across the country, the strategic focus of the Cignition MTSS Advisory Board will be to provide insight into the role of high-impact tutoring (HIT) in the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) framework and how that integration might significantly boost academic progress.

Regardless of the potential hiccups along the way, data has shown that colleges and universities are beginning to tap more into Federal Work-Study funds to hire tutors, said Nancy Waymack, director of research partnerships and policy at Stanford University’s National Student Support Accelerator, a nonprofit research organization that promotes high-impact tutoring in schools.  

For Waymack, it’s refreshing to see students earn pay for tutoring considering the role has historically been viewed as a volunteering opportunity.

“Using Work-Study, using AmeriCorps funds, other federal resources or resources that come from other places to pay tutors just opens up the field a lot more for many different students who otherwise might have been doing another job on campus,” Waymack said. “And they wouldn’t have that opportunity to be in a school, work with kids, and see educators who are teaching every day that they might want to emulate somewhere down the road.”


The New Jersey Department of Education recently released a resource to provide information on the benefits and essential design elements of effective, high-impact tutoring programs to support local education agencies’ efforts to meet the increased needs of students, according to an advisory.

The resource – “High-Impact Tutoring: An Evidence-Based Strategy to Accelerate Learning”  – was developed in response to the strong interest in designing and implementing tutoring programs through both federal and discretionary funding streams. It aims to assist school districts in designing and planning high-impact tutoring programs.


Educators are eager to launch high-impact tutoring, however, they also reported that improvements were needed to ensure tutors focused on the interventions most needed by students.

Most K12 leaders would agree that high-dosage tutoring is now a key part of instruction. Most would also note difficulties with finding adequate space and funding, hiring high-quality tutors and encouraging students to attend.

Those hurdles and, more importantly, the solutions are explained by Stanford University’s National Student Support Accelerator in a new study of a large urban district and a charter system. The strategies identified should help administrators scale successful tutoring programs to help more students stay on track, the report’s authors contend.


Purpose of the Family and Caregiver Toolkit
  • Understand what high-impact tutoring is
  • Contribute to your child’s success in school
  • Empower yourself and other families to advocate and partner with schools

This support element includes different approaches to tutoringcompetency-based instruction where students advance based on what they know rather than age; summer schooleffective use of student time on task; and linking tutor vendor payments with student outcomes like attendance, and academic learning can improve learning and accountability for results. High-dosage tutoring is an especially effective strategy for achieving significant academic improvements. The National Student Support Accelerator, a program at Stanford, is a recognized source of information for this work.