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

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

The Covid pandemic triggered the largest decline in student achievement in decades, with achievement losses concentrated among the nation’s most vulnerable students (Carbonari et al., 2024a). Federal pandemic relief provided districts with temporary resources to invest in recovery efforts (Dewey et al., 2024), and many turned to tutoring to address student learning loss (Carbonari et al., 2022). This is in light of existing evidence that tutoring is the most effective approach to improving student learning outcomes (Kraft & Falken, 2021; Nickow et al., 2024; Kraft et al., 2024). But with the expiration of federal relief aid, schools are facing difficult decisions about maintaining this vital support. Thus, expanding the number and type of scalable proven tutoring options is critical for addressing the diverse needs of schools across different educational contexts.  

In this panel, we present new evidence on the impact of tutoring from four randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of tutoring providers - three virtual and one in-person model. In paper #1, the authors examine the impact and cost-effectiveness of a virtual tutoring program on the English language arts (ELA) achievement of elementary and middle school students. In paper #2, the authors examine the impact of a virtual tutoring program designed to strengthen foundational reading skills for early-elementary students. In paper #3, the authors examine the impact of a virtual tutoring program on the math achievement of upper elementary and middle school students. In paper #4, the authors examine the impact of instructionally aligned high-dosage tutoring on the ELA outcomes of early-elementary students. Taken together, these four RCTs provide important insights into the impact of high-dosage tutoring on student learning outcomes across diverse educational settings and critical information on the potential scalability of existing tutoring options. 

This panel aligns quite well with the 2025 APPAM conference theme of “Forging Collaborations for Transformative and Resilient Policy Solutions.” Indeed, the four RCTs represent a collaboration between Accelerate, a recently launched national non-profit organization that aims to identify and scale effective educational interventions, the four tutoring providers being studied, and the four research teams leading the evaluation studies (CEPR at Harvard University; CREE at Johns Hopkins University; Youth Policy Lab at University of Michigan; and Abt Global). The design, implementation, and evaluation of the four tutoring interventions presented in this panel reflect the importance of productive partnership among multiple stakeholders, including Accelerate, the tutoring providers, the research teams, and the local school communities in which these studies are being conducted. And the panel’s two discussants (Dr. Monica Bhatt and Dr. Andrew Bacher-Hicks) are members of Accelerate’s Research Learning Community, a network of research and strategic partners who play a critical role in informing the design and implementation of evaluation studies of tutoring interventions in a collaborative effort to identify impactful and cost-effective solutions to address our nation’s ongoing crisis in student learning. Thus, this panel demonstrates how collaborative partnerships between researchers, educational providers, and school districts can generate rigorous, actionable evidence to inform policy towards improving the academic outcomes of our nation’s most vulnerable students.

Policy Area

• Education

Secondary Policy Area

• Methods and Tools of Analysis

Chair

• Matthew Steinberg, Accelerate - The National Collaborative for Accelerated Learning

Discussants

• Monica Bhatt, The University of Chicago

• Andrew Bacher-Hicks, Arnold Ventures

Individual Presentations

• A Randomized Controlled Trial of BookNook Tutoring Program SY24-25 - Presenting Author: Lisa Sanbonmatsu, Harvard University

• From Pilot to Policy: What Two Years of Air Reading Reveal About Virtual Tutoring’s Impact - Presenting Author: Amanda Jean Neitzel, Johns Hopkins University

• The Effects of Small-Group Virtual Math Tutoring for Upper Elementary Students - Non-Presenting Co-Author: Catherine Armstrong Asher, University of Michigan; Presenting Author: Robin T Jacob, University of Michigan Ann Arbor

• Creating Coherence: Do Instructionally Aligned Materials Affect the Impact of Tutoring? - Presenting Author: Cara Jackson, The Center for Outcomes Based Contracting at SEF

Organizer

• Matthew Steinberg, Accelerate - The National Collaborative for Accelerated Learning