The Effect of Online Tutoring on PK-12 Student Achievement: A Meta-Analysis

• In Event: Promising Findings From the Evaluation of Tutoring and Educational Interventions Through the COVID Pandemic Recovery.

Abstract

Many studies have shown that in-person tutoring has a positive impact on student learning. Nevertheless, online tutoring is not the same thing as in-person tutoring. A small number of studies have found that the effect of online tutoring is small while others have indicated it is moderate to large. This current study addresses the inconsistency of online tutoring effect among existing research. We use a meta-analysis approach to estimate the effect size of online tutoring on PK-12 student achievement in math, literacy, and science from published studies that include both peer-reviewed journal publications and non-peer-reviewed reports or dissertations. Our preliminary estimate indicates that online tutoring has a moderate overall effect of .19 standard deviation (Hedges’ g).

Authors

• Haigen Huang, Independent Researcher

• Charles Laurin, Institute of Education Sciences