The University of Chicago Education Lab announced Nov. 22 that it is leading a cutting-edge research project to determine how the nation’s schools can close student achievement gaps and overcome pandemic-era learning losses.
The multi-year project will help school districts across the country effectively scale “high-dosage” tutoring – an intervention proved to double or triple the amount of learning in a single academic year. The Education Lab will work with MDRC and the newly formed nonprofit Accelerate to engage thousands of students in school districts nationwide. This work is supported by an $18 million donation from America Achieves, Citadel Founder and CEO Ken Griffin and Arnold Ventures.
“As students continue to struggle with pandemic-era learning loss, this project represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to boost learning and close longstanding gaps in student achievement,” said Monica Bhatt of UChicago’s Education Lab. “The Education Lab is proud to work alongside our partners in determining how to cost-effectively deliver one of the most promising learning interventions – at scale – to a student population in urgent need of support.”
High-dosage tutoring – at least 30 minutes of intensive, individual instruction three or more days per week – has been shown to be a highly effective learning intervention. Given this promising evidence, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona recently called on school districts across the country to provide tutoring to every student in need of support, but high-dosage tutoring requires highly trained tutors, making it cost-prohibitive for many school districts.
By designing a massive, randomized control trial, the Education Lab and MDRC will help school districts use technology to lower the number of tutors required, determining if and how it is possible to scale this kind of tutoring without compromising effectiveness.
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This story is first published by UChicago News.
