Does Access to Small Group Instruction and Individual Tutoring Close the Achievement Gap?

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 9:45 am - Gold 3
  In Roundtable Session: Placing Students At Promise with Small Instruction, Adolescent Achievement Predictors, and Warm Demander Pedagogy

Abstract

Although racial and socioeconomic achievement gaps have been prevalent throughout history, greater attention has been placed on these gaps due to the pandemic. Small group instruction (SGI) and individual tutoring have been advanced as methods that could decrease those achievement gaps. Accessing information from the nationally representative ECLS-k 2011 dataset we find that kindergarten students receiving SGI and individual tutoring scored lower on mathematics and reading assessments at entry to kindergarten than their peers, but by the end of kindergarten, showed larger gains in both reading and math than students not receiving these services, modestly reducing the achievement gap for these students.

Authors

• Karyn Ginesi, Notre Dame of Maryland University

• Mark J. Fenster, Notre Dame of Maryland University

• Joanna Newton, Notre Dame of Maryland University