You've Paid for Tutoring. Here's How to Make Sure It Works.

• By Pete Lavorini, Dr. Meghan McCormick
• 08/06/25

Decades of research have found that tutoring can substantially improve student achievement. The most effective programs — defined as "high-impact tutoring" — show impacts as large as a year of learning.

Yet despite school districts investing upwards of $7.5 billion on tutoring between 2021 and 2024, and arguments for the effectiveness of tutoring as an intervention, results from the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress showed little overall change in students' reading skills and only small upticks in math compared to 2022. And while small-scale, randomized controlled trials have consistently found sizable benefits of tutoring on student learning, broader studies examining tutoring implemented under real-world conditions at scale have found much smaller and often null effects.

The latest findings from a national study conducted by the University of Chicago and MDRC bring this challenge into a new light. During the 2023-24 school year, researchers examined in-person, virtual, and computer-assisted high-impact tutoring in eight large U.S. school districts, reaching over 17,000 students. Impacts were smaller than earlier meta-analyses, ranging from .06 to .09 standard deviations on standardized test scores — the equivalent of one to two months of learning.

Upon deeper review, however, these findings leave room for optimism. First, researchers found that lower-cost virtual tutoring models — approximately $1,200/student — were just as impactful as in-person models at $2,000/student, suggesting that tutoring can be less expensive without sacrificing impact.

Second, these findings highlight what's possible when students receivetutoring that comes closer to the definition of "high-impact." For example, the effect of tutoring was largest — about 3.5 months of learning — in a New Mexico district where students received more than 2,000 minutes of tutoring per year. Across all districts in the study, this amount most closely aligned with the recommendations for implementing a high-impact model.

The takeaway? As districts and states nationwide invest in tutoring, it remains one of the best tools in our educational toolkit, yielding positive impacts on student learning at scale. But to maximize return on investment, both financially and academically, we must focus on improving implementation. Here are five questions schools and districts should ask.  

1) Does this program fit the requirements of "high-impact tutoring"?

If we want tutoring to live up to its promise, we need to build from a proven foundation. The high-impact tutoring framework, which research has consistently linked to the largest gains in student achievement, prioritizes frequency, consistency, small groups, curricular alignment, qualified staff, and integration into the school day.

While research continues to provide deeper insight into where these parameters can stretch, to maximize impact, the tutoring provided needs to adhere to best practices.

2) Is tutoring integrated into our instructional strategy?

For tutoring to be most effective, all stakeholders need a shared understanding of its purpose and objectives. While post-pandemic efforts often positioned tutoring as a universal remedy for learning loss, resource constraints likely necessitate a more strategic approach. Begin by identifying priority students. Who stands to benefit most from tutoring? What specific outcomes are you aiming for?

With this in mind, consider how to integrate tutoring into your broader instructional strategy, with goals that ensure it complements core instructional tiers. This means aligning tutoring sessions with classroom instruction by using consistent, if not the same, curriculum materials and ensuring tutors and teachers are sharing information about student progress. Tutoring can also be integrated into existing multi-tiered systems of support to make it a cohesive part of a strategy to support student learning.

3) Is there evidence of past success with students like ours?

If you are choosing a tutoring provider, choose one with rigorous evidence of impact for a student population like yours and who is willing to work with you to bring that impact to your students. Resources like the National Student Support Accelerator and Proven Tutoring can help guide leaders in making choices rooted in evidence.

Ask: Has this provider demonstrated success in similar schools or districts? Are their tutors trained and supported? Are they committed to transparently sharing data on implementation and student learning? Decision-makers should also ask providers for references to obtain first-hand accounts of their strength as a partner.

4) Can we make enough time?

Tutoring works because it provides extra time for students to receive individualized support. Yet all too often, tutoring sessions are canceled or cut short due to logistics — from testing and field trips to schedule changes and chronic absenteeism. As a result, students don't receive enough instruction to see real learning gains.

Treat tutoring time as sacred, for both students and tutors. That means scheduling it carefully, shielding it from disruption, and building the operational infrastructure to support long-term consistency.

5) Are we willing to commit to mutual accountability?

Tutoring works best when students receive the intended dosage, sessions are aligned with instruction, tutors are prepared, systems are established to collect and analyze implementation data, and subsequently, the results are rigorously measured. It's the responsibility of both providers and districts to focus on outcomes rather than outputs.

One way to align expectations is through outcomes-based contracts, which tie dollars to student results such as growth on assessments or gains in proficiency. These contracts require both districts and providers to agree in advance on what success looks like and what each party must do to get there. That might include clearly defined roles, dosage guarantees, aligned data-sharing practices, and timely implementation reviews, essentially ensuring alignment with best practices.

Ultimately, we know that when tutoring is implemented with fidelity, it is one of the most effective, scalable, and equitable strategies we have to support student success. Research reminds us of both the promise and the shortfalls: tutoring works — but we have to do it well.