Opinion
Student Achievement Letter to the Editor

Students Need High-Dosage Tutoring

November 01, 2022 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

To the Editor:

Since kindergarten, high school students have shown up to school every day ready to learn, and we have failed them (“New Graduates’ ACT Scores Hit a 30-Year Low,” Oct. 12, 2022). According to 2022 ACT scores, only 41 percent of students are college-ready in reading. ACT CEO Janet Goodwin is correct when she says test performance is evidence of “longtime systemic failures.”

Chief among these failures has been teaching reading as a one-size-fits-all endeavor. It is not. In key grades, such as 3rd, 6th, and 9th, we must administer an individualized diagnostic assessment to measure components of literacy. Students who are reading below their grade level must receive sustained, individualized tutoring to close those gaps.

We tracked data since 2008 and found that our program’s outcomes show that “highest dosage” tutoring intervention, delivered during the school day by trained tutors in hourlong sessions five days per week, is a solution that produces results: Ninety percent of our students improve in six weeks. This type of intervention is a game changer—especially for high schoolers—not only in their ability to access curriculum across all subject matters but to improve their standardized-test scores and graduate ready to pursue college and/or workforce opportunities.

As our nation’s woeful educational outcomes demonstrate, the need for diagnostic assessment and intensive intervention has never been more urgent for our young people and our nation. If we want to graduate students with dignity and confidence, prepared for postsecondary education and a bright economic future, we must address the crisis of illiteracy with the zeal required. And we must do it now.

Pamela Good
Co-founder and CEO
Beyond Basics
Southfield, Mich.

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the November 02, 2022 edition of Education Week as Students Need High-Dosage Tutoring

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Assessment Webinar
Reflections on Evidence-Based Grading Practices: What We Learned for Next Year
Get real insights on evidence-based grading from K-12 leaders.
Content provided by Otus
Mathematics Webinar How to Build Students’ Confidence in Math
Learn practical tips to build confident mathematicians in our webinar.
Student Achievement K-12 Essentials Forum How to Build and Scale Effective K-12 State & District Tutoring Programs
Join this free virtual summit to learn from education leaders, policymakers, and industry experts on the topic of high-impact tutoring.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Student Achievement Spotlight Spotlight on Adolescent Intervention
This Spotlight will help you explore effective interventions to address learning gaps, support literacy development, and more.
Student Achievement Here’s What Makes Tutoring Work for Academic Recovery
Tutoring can help boost student achievement, but there are concerns about how to scale it.
4 min read
Teacher helps her student, little girl, with reading and writing.
E+
Student Achievement The Reasons Behind the Poor NAEP Scores, According to Teachers
Educators on social media weigh in on what's behind the recent drop in student test scores.
1 min read
Image of a person using a computer, with glasses, papers, and pencil on the desk too.
iStock/Getty
Student Achievement Districts Recovering From an Achievement Slide Have This in Common
Districts' progress may be related to how they used federal COVID-relief funds, a new analysis finds.
4 min read
Image of data and demographics.
Enis Aksoy/DigitalVision Vectors