CHICAGO, IL – The University of Chicago Education Lab released results from a study of a high-dosage tutoring model which found that substituting some tutor time with educational technology can reduce costs by one-third and halve the number of tutors needed without compromising effectiveness. This study builds on previous research of high-dosage tutoring shown to double or triple what students learn in a year.
In the aftermath of the global COVID-19 pandemic, United States Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona strongly encouraged districts to support high-dosage tutoring with at least part of the $122 billion the federal government provided to overcome pandemic-related learning loss. Research suggests that high-dosage tutoring—consistent time for students to work with a tutor using a structured curriculum delivered three or more days per week during the school day—is the most effective way to accelerate student learning.
But school districts hoping to expand their tutoring programs are running up against two key challenges to scaling up the benefits of high-dosage tutoring: cost and staffing. Tutoring programs are cost-prohibitive for many schools; even if schools spent all federal pandemic relief funding on tutoring alone, these programs would only reach a fraction of the students in need. And while there is evidence that educational technology can help supplement instruction, there is more to learn about how to implement these resources equitably and at scale.
“The findings from this study mark a pivotal moment for both students and educators, not only within Chicago Public Schools but for school districts across the country,” said Bogdana Chkoumbova, Chief Education Officer of Chicago Public Schools. “By accelerating learning with high-dosage tutoring that incorporates educational technology, we’re beginning to unlock and understand an innovative approach to education that provides targeted supports to students through extended learning time, helping students thrive in the classroom.”
The University of Chicago Education Lab partnered with CPS, NYCPS, and nonprofit Saga Education to evaluate a tutoring program–what we call the “Saga Technology” model–that replaces some tutor time with educational technology. Specifically, this paper examined whether we can reduce reliance on tutor time by encouraging students to use educational technology, while still maintaining student learning outcomes.
The results suggest we can. When students alternated between a tutor and a high-quality education technology platform, schools were able to reduce the costs of tutoring programs by one-third without any drop-off in effectiveness from the previous study. Participating students experienced the equivalent of an extra one to two years of math learning, a result comparable to Saga’s highly successful traditional tutoring program.
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