Intensive tutoring — a key weapon in the battle against pandemic-era learning delays — appears to be paying off in some North Carolina schools, early data shows.
North Carolina leaders are measuring the impact of intensive tutoring on helping students catch up after falling behind during the learn-from-home days of the Covid-19 pandemic.
But as schools look to overcome that challenge, they're contending with another: Much of the money that pays for the tutoring is about to dry up.
Since 2021, North Carolina schools have started or expanded "high-dosage" tutoring programs — 30-minute sessions with one to three students a few times per week. They’re designed to push struggling students up to grade level. It's data-driven, personalized for students and done during the school day.
"We're pretty clear on the big picture about what makes tutoring work, and it is focused on intensive, relationship-based, individualized instruction," said Kathy Bendheim, managing director of the National Student Support Accelerator. After-school tutoring has spotty attendance records, she said, and on-call, web-based tutoring may not be tailored to the student or used very frequently, either.
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