American schools are grappling with how to most effectively improve the literacy and math skills of their students. Many educational institutions turned to tutoring as a means of supporting students and improving their skills. Youth Policy Lab has been engaging in evaluation efforts to inform educators and education decision makers about the effectiveness of tutoring, and the particular factors and contexts that should be considered when implementing these types of interventions.
Reading Partners
Funders: U.S. Department of Education, Arnold Ventures
We partnered with MDRC and Reading Partners, a national organization that uses volunteer tutors to provide literacy tutoring to elementary students. Our evaluation assesses the impact of an in-person tutoring program (RPT), and a virtual, synchronous tutoring program called Reading Partners Connects (RPCx). Preliminary findings show positive effects of both the RPT and RPCx programs for first and second graders, while effects for third and fourth graders are more mixed. Analysis is ongoing and findings are expected to be published in the next year.
Accelerate
Funder: Accelerate
YPL has also partnered with Accelerate on three RCT evaluations of small group tutoring programs with different populations.
- Ed Corps: YPL evaluated the effect of implementation support for in-person literacy tutoring for students reading below grade level in grades K-3. We found a statistically significant increase in reading proficiency for participating students. Boys, in particular, benefited from this intervention.
- Cignition: We evaluated virtual math tutoring for students below grade level in grades 3-6. Implementation was a challenge, but there was a small, not statistically significant increase in math performance overall. Interestingly, one school that had 93% of participating students reaching the goal 50 hour mark showed a statistically significant positive impact. Implementation matters!
- Carnegie Learning: We are currently evaluating a virtual Algebra I tutoring for 8th graders (regardless of prior achievement) and for 9th-12th graders who had not passed the state Algebra I assessment. A lot of tutoring research has focused on K-5 literacy; YPL is pleased to look at this under-studied subject and age group. Analysis is ongoing but the team has noted that implementation and its ability to ensure students get the targeted dosage of sessions is likely to be an important factor again.
In addition to conducting research, we've been busy getting the word out about the impact of intensive tutoring. Robin Jacob and Catherine Asher spoke before the Michigan House Education and Workforce Committee on April 29, 2026 about the potential of high dosage tutoring to improve early literacy skills. Check out the recording (starting at 54:44)! We look forward to continuing our work in this field to help schools determine how often and in what ways to offer tutoring to make a difference for students.