From Pilot to Policy: What Two Years of Air Reading Reveal About Virtual Tutoring’s Impact

• In Event: The Impact of High-Dosage Tutoring on Student Achievement Outcomes? Evidence from Four Randomized Controlled Trials

Abstract

This study presents findings from an ongoing multi-site randomized controlled trial of Air Reading, a virtual, assessment-driven tutoring program designed to strengthen foundational reading skills for early-grade students. As tutoring gains prominence as a targeted and flexible strategy to address learning gaps, this research offers rigorous evidence on the program’s effectiveness and cost—alongside insights into how it can be adapted to meet district needs.

Research Questions

This study investigates the following questions:
1. What are the one-year and two-year effects of Air Reading on reading achievement for students reading below grade level, compared to business-as-usual instruction?
2. How do these effects vary across student subgroups (e.g., race/ethnicity, English learner status, special education status)?
3. What is the relationship between tutoring dosage (as measured by lessons completed/session attendance) and student outcomes?
4. What are the standard/typical costs of program implementation?

5. How much student learning is produced per unit cost (e.g., per pupil)?

Methodology
The study is a multi-site randomized controlled trial of Air Reading, a virtual, assessment-driven tutoring program. It spans two cohorts across multiple districts. The first cohort was implemented during the 2023–24 school year in a small, rural district, delivering one semester of tutoring to students in grades 1–6. The second cohort, currently in the field during the 2024–25 school year, includes new students from the original district as well as students from a larger, urban district.

Students needing reading intervention were randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, stratified by school and scheduling block. Outcomes are assessed using locally administered measures: NWEA MAP for cohort 1, and TPRI and DIBELS for cohort 2. Dosage is measured by the number of tutoring sessions attended.

Findings
Preliminary results from the first cohort show a statistically significant improvement in reading achievement for students in the Air Reading program compared to control peers (effect size = +0.12, p = .05). The greatest gains were observed among students who received the highest dosage (48+ sessions). There were no significant differences in impacts across student subgroups, suggesting equitable outcomes. Currently, final data collection is underway for the second cohort and for follow-up assessments with the first cohort. These will be completed by June 2025, enabling evaluation of the sustainability of impacts, the effects of a full-year tutoring model, and the cost and cost-effectiveness of the program.

Policy Implications

This research responds directly to the 2025 APPAM conference theme by illustrating how collaborative partnerships between researchers, providers, and districts can generate rigorous, actionable evidence. The results demonstrate that virtual tutoring can produce meaningful and equitable gains in early literacy, and that dosage plays an important role in maximizing impact.

By comparing outcomes across different implementation durations and district contexts, this study provides policymakers with practical options for designing and adapting tutoring interventions to local conditions. It highlights how structured, evidence-based tutoring models can be scaled flexibly to meet the needs of diverse students and systems while maintaining a focus on learning recovery and long-term academic resilience.

Author

• Amanda Jean Neitzel, Johns Hopkins University
  Presenting Author