High-Dosage Tutoring

Recommended Initiative 2.4

Adopt or design/implement a high-dosage tutoring program for a subset of students in targeted grade levels, performance bands, and content areas.

Deliverables & Design Considerations

Click each deliverable below to expand its key design considerations.

TIMING: SPRING 2021

Determine a subset of students and content areas for tutoring that would most benefit, using data and a set of identification criteria

Based on the data, which students, grade levels, and content areas would benefit most from tutoring? Note: Tutoring can be effective at all grade levels, but if cost is a constraint, it is likely to be most effective in early grades (K-2) reading and middle and high school math (Robinson et al 2021; Nickow et al 2020).
- Accelerating Student Learning with High-Dosage Tutoring, Brown University, 2021 provides examples of common tutoring models.

Develop an internal staffing plan or identify an external tutoring partner

To what extent do we have access to high quality internal staff (e.g. teachers and paraprofessionals) willing to provide tutoring? What additional training would they need?
If internal staff are unavailable, to what extent can we recruit and prepare volunteers and college-age students to be effective tutors? Can they provide consistent student-tutor relationships?
To what extent does our system have the capacity to train, coach, and evaluate an internal tutoring corp?

Develop a robust training and onboarding plan for tutors (internal or external)

If deploying an internal tutoring corps, who will design training and lead on tutor coaching and development? How will we train on both content and skills?
To what extent are we able to effectively use formative assessments to provide timely feedback on each student and tailor tutoring sessions?
To what extent are we able to fully integrate external (or internal) tutors into the culture, norms, and routines of the school by providing multiple touchpoints and a wide exposure to the school experience (e.g. though grading, duties, clubs, and organization)?

Determine an internal or external staffing plan to service the subset of students prioritized including creating a tutor recruitment and selection plan (if staffing internally) or developing and using vetting criteria to research and select an external tutoring partner (if staffing externally)

What restrictions or opportunities, if any, on use of funds dictate our entry point(s) to a high-dosage tutoring program?
To what extent is an external provider able to meet the school/system needs? Outside organizations such as AmeriCorps, City Year, and Reading Corps provide trained and stipend-funded volunteers to recruit, hire, and manage tutors while FEV Tutor and schoolhouse.world provide virtual tutoring options. Saga Education provides a full suite of tutoring services including consulting, training, program management, and direct tutoring.

timing: SCHOOL YEAR 2021-22

Publish schedules for tutoring, detailing plans for both days and weeks, that prioritize in-school tutoring as much as possible

To what extent does our system have the flexibility to build frequent, dedicated in-school time (30-60 min) for tutoring in order to respond to research that suggests tutoring is most effective when offered at least three times per week, in-person, and in student groups of less than four, but ideally smaller?

Establish ongoing coaching and PD support systems for tutors, including instructional enabling system processes and protocol for tutors, observation/feedback protocol, and tutorial preparation

If deploying an internal tutoring corps, who will design training and lead on tutor coaching and development? How will we train on both content and skills?
If hiring an external partner, how will we integrate tutors into the culture, norms, and routines of the school?
To what extent are we able to effectively use formative assessments to provide timely feedback on each student and tailor tutoring sessions?

Align tutoring instructional materials to existing high quality curriculum to reinforce and support classroom instruction

To what extent do we have a coherent set of intervention resources that align to the core and meet unique learning needs?
To what extent can our system align instructional materials for tutoring to existing high quality curriculum to reinforce and support classroom instruction?
What structures can we create to provide consistent collaboration and communication between tutors and teachers, ensuring alignment across core instruction and tutorial content?

If staffing internally: Plan to recruit and select tutors for SY22-23 and beyond

To what extent can we leverage existing human capital resources to recruit and select tutors?
To what extent do we have access to high quality internal staff willing to provide tutoring? What additional training would they need?

If staffing internally: Identify clear roles and responsibilities for tutoring recruitment and support (e.g. tutoring coordinator)