In a special report on COVID19’s effect on learning, Education Week quotes Johns Hopkins University Professor Robert Slavin: “For the level of problems districts are likely to be seeing coming into their doors with the minimum of six months of learning at home, I think it would be malpractice to do anything less than tutoring.” Using funds from the American Rescue Plan, let’s hope school districts agree.
Researchers have found that “high-dosage tutoring,” defined as one-hour sessions at least three times a week amounting to approximately 50 hours, is highly effective. Writing about the power of teachers using this format, the article’s author, Steven Sawchuck, explains: “teachers can better customize teaching to the specific content gaps a student has missed or the prerequisite skills they need to practice. And it’s easier for a student to develop a relationship with a tutor they see at dedicated hours several times a week.”
Or according to Emily Freitag, the CEO of the non-profit consulting group Instruction Partners: “The magic of tutoring of course seems to be this individualized ability to both diagnose, and hover, in ways that just lead to real progress.”
Slavin adds: “The lowest-performing kids tend to sit quietly in school and hope no one will notice them. With tutoring, there’s an adult who gets to know them and cares about them deeply and gives them loads of opportunity to let them show that they can succeed.”
Whether your child is one of the quiet kids in the back of the room, or a high achiever who is concerned about possible COVID losses, or a kid in the middle who could gain from individualized support, tutoring is a good choice – especially now.
https://www.edweek.org/leadership/high-dosage-tutoring-is-effective-but-expensive-ideas-for-making-it-work/2020/08