This Is a Critical Moment for High-Impact Tutoring. Don’t Give up on It

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High-impact tutoring has the strongest evidence base of any approach for improving student learning, and contributes to increased engagement and attendance. As far as proven education solutions go, it’s a pretty darn good one, and has rightfully been a bipartisan priority since the pandemic. 

But federal pandemic relief money that helped fuel the expansion of such programs dried up in September, and recent research has sparked debates about the high-impact tutoring’s effectiveness when implemented at scale. This includes an evaluation of Metro Nashville Public Schools’ tutoring program that reported small gains for students and a meta-analysis of large high-impact tutoring programs that showed challenges in maintaining evidence-based practices. 

Still, our experience in implementing and evaluating high-impact tutoring programs shows that if states and school districts get creative with funding and focus on implementing key evidence-based practices, they can achieve the positive outcomes for students that research shows are possible. 

This summer, our organizations hosted a learning sprint to help 10 geographically and demographically diverse school districts build and sustain these kinds of programs. It was inspiring to see their commitment to overcoming barriers and seeking innovative solutions. Here’s what some school districts are doing this year:

Being creative with funding and committing their own resources. Recent estimates suggest it would cost $15 billion annually to provide intensive tutoring for 20% of students. Cutting-edge technologies, like AI-assisted tutoring, may eventually help reduce costs, but securing sustainable funding for high-impact tutoring is challenging. To fill budget holes, school districts are investing their own taxpayer dollars and exploring other federal funding streams, including grant money for specific student populations, such as children from low-income families or with special needs; Americorps; and the federal work-study program. 

For example, Lincoln Parish Schools in Louisiana combined local money with Title I and IDEA — Individuals With Disabilities Education Act — funding to pilot high-impact tutoring in its schools in 2021. A state grant and federal pandemic relief funds helped continue the program. For the 2024-25 school year, it’s using a per-pupil allocation from the state, as well as Title I and IDEA funds. 

Ector County Independent School District in Texas made significant cuts to its 2024-25 budget to close a $24 million deficit but decided to maintain funding for high-impact tutoring, based on ts positive results. During the 2022-23 school year, half of the students who had scored below grade level on the previous state assessment and received at least 20 hours of tutoring scored at grade level or higher after one year. This year, the district is using $2 million in Title I funds to pay for this service in elementary and middle schools, and state compensatory education funds for its high school programs.

The Office of the State Superintendent of Education in Washington, D.C., is paying for high-impact tutoring with a $5 million local investment, philanthropic dollars and by partnering with local colleges and universities for tutors funded through the federal work-study program. 

A number of states are helping with funding, including by building high-impact tutoring into broader initiatives. Oregon is using its state-funded early literacy initiative to require district grantees to use the approach to improve reading skills. Tennessee is including it in its funding formula. Districts have also found ways to incorporate it into existing school programs. For example, Baltimore City Public Schools has included it as one of the interventions for students in need of extra support.

Investing in evidence-based programs to maximize funding. States and school districts can increase the impact of their funding by directing it toward evidence-based practices. Our organizations have developed a template showing school districts how to prioritize evidence in grants and contracts. After participating in our sprint, Florida created a new high-impact tutoring initiative and required providers to meet certain criteria in order to qualify for state funding. The Louisiana legislature required that programs funded through a $30 million state investment follow evidence-based practices and gather data on student outcomes, broken out by demographics. Another sprint team is exploring a contracting approach that focuses on the performance of its tutoring provider – paying for outcomes rather than services. 

Making informed implementation decisions. Evidence-based high-impact tutoring that incorporates key features, such as one-on-one or small-group sessions held at least three times a week during school hours, can increase learning across all grade levels. But districts sometimes deviate from these principles due to local needs and resources. For example, many districts struggle to fit high-impact tutoring into the school day, opting instead to hold sessions outside regular hours, which can reduce attendance and effectiveness. Implementation choices must remain research-based to ensure strong outcomes.

Focusing on continuous improvement. Less than half of the teams participating in our summer program entered with a strong understanding of best practices for evaluating programs. Planning for data collection from the start is essential for assessing and improving program effectiveness. While this can be intimidating, it is a vital part of any new learning approach. For example, based on the findings from its recent evaluation, Metro Nashville Public Schools improved elements of its high-impact tutoring program, including improving communications with tutors.

The funding and implementation challenges of the current moment must not become an excuse for sidelining high-impact tutoring. We encourage students to persevere in the face of challenges and to learn from feedback. The education community must do the same regarding high-impact tutoring. It will take time and hard work to get this right at scale, but with high-impact tutoring, schools can give students the support they need to thrive.

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