The University of Chicago Education Lab released a study today that demonstrates individualized, intensive (or “high-dosage”) tutoring can double or triple the amount of math high school students learn each year, increase student grades, and reduce math and non-math course failures. The findings, which are the result of an intervention developed by the non-profit organization Saga Education, come as school districts across America grapple with the pandemic’s academic fallout, including significant learning loss among students and the acceleration of pre-existing educational disparities.
Led by a team of the world’s leading education and child development experts as co-authors, and funded by the National Institutes of Health, the MacArthur Foundation, Arnold Ventures (formerly the Laura and John Arnold Foundation), and others, the study, Not Too Late: Improving Academic Outcomes Among Adolescents, measured the impact of providing Chicago Public Schools students with daily 45-50 minute, two-on-one math instruction in 9th and 10th grades. By providing personalized instruction and coordinating closely with teachers, students, and families, tutors were able to complement in-classroom learning and help students catch-up to grade level. The results are particularly encouraging given conventional wisdom and claims by some in the research community that it is too difficult or costly to substantially improve the academic skills of children who are behind once they reach high school.
