Why We Need to Study the Tutors

By Megan Beckett

Based on the results of statewide standardized tests, more than 15 percent of U.S. schools are in need of improvement. The students attending these schools need help.

Under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, billions of dollars have been dedicated to providing them with better educational opportunities. Up to 20 percent of districts’ Title I funds, for example, must be set aside to transport such students to higher-performing schools, or to provide their parents with the option of enrolling them, at no cost to the family, in supplemental educational services chosen from a list of state-approved providers. The providers may be for-profit companies, nonprofit organizations, or even school districts themselves, and they can offer tutoring, remediation, or other academic instruction.

In this era of accountability and competition, one might expect that providers of supplemental educational services, or SES, would be evaluated according to how well they help the students they are paid to serve. But as it stands now, NCLB emphasizes ensuring that all providers have access to parents, over rigorous...