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A new policy brief examines the research evidence behind tutoring and what design principles for tutoring have shown to be important for boosting student achievement. The report is titled Accelerating Student Learning with High-Dosage Tutoring. It’s coauthored by Dr. Carly Robinson, Dr. Matthew Kraft and Dr. Susanna Loeb of the Annenberg Institute at Brown University, as well as Dr. Beth Schueler of the School of Education and Human Development at the University of Virginia.

"This experience caused me to question my likely efficacy as an educator, both because of the structural inequalities that inhibit opportunity for so many children, but also because of what I felt to be grossly inadequate training both on the preparation and in-service side of teaching. I realized that there were broader dimensions on which I might be able to make a difference than as an educator in the classroom. I wanted to understand the ways in which we might be able to improve children’s access to a safe, high-quality educational experience, and in particular the ways in which we might be able to develop, recruit and retain good teachers for all students."

He pointed to a study released last month from the Center for the Study of Educators at Brown University’s Annenberg Institute that found Providence’s applicant pool is small compared to its peer districts and racial and ethnic diversity is low among jobseekers.

“When the teacher workforce is diverse, students of all races and ethnicities are more likely to graduate and pursue higher education,” Peters wrote. “Rates of out-of-school suspensions, which disproportionately impact students of color, decrease, while referrals of diverse students to gifted and talented programs increase.”

“The pandemic closed a lot of schools and in the process created even greater inequalities in the access students have to good educational opportunities,” said Susanna Loeb, a professor of education at Brown who directs the Annenberg Institute. “Many students weren’t able to connect, both metaphorically — as in, they found virtual learning very difficult — and literally — as in, they didn’t have internet access or the right technology. We came in thinking: ‘What is out there that could really accelerate the learning of students in need so that they don’t lose months or years of progress?’”

Providence Public School District (PPSD) made significant progress last year in ensuring that most classrooms were fully staffed by the start of the 2020-21 school year (see the previous brief in this series for more detail). Despite more positions to fill and higher-than-usual retirement numbers during the pandemic, PPSD hired earlier across the spring of 2020 and significantly reduced vacancies by the start of the school year. The district also hired more teachers of color – a high-priority item given the large disparity between the racial/ethnic make-up of PPSD teachers and their students. Going forward, the district must contend with ongoing areas of challenge, particularly in filling open positions for English learner (EL), math, and science classrooms.

It isn’t just the research community buzzing about tutoring — it is gaining momentum in policy circles, too. Bob Slavin and colleagues at Johns Hopkins University have put forth a “Tutoring Marshall Plan,” based on a similar idea championed by Sen. Chris Coons that would provide funding for as many as 300,000 college students to be recruited, trained and coached as tutors. Susanna Loeb and colleagues at the Annenberg Institute at Brown University recently launched the National Student Support Accelerator, an ambitious initiative aimed at implementing research-aligned tutoring programs at scale. And Institute of Education Sciences Director Mark Schneider recently co-authored a piece highlighting the growing consensus that tutoring is “the most promising candidate for successful COVID catch-up.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in record-setting unemployment in the United States. While employment for higher-income workers has largely rebounded, employment rates are still 21% lower than the start of 2020 for the lowest-wage earners. Anywhere from 32% to 43% of jobs experiencing a coronavirus-induced layoff will likely transform into a permanent position cut. Policymakers are increasingly looking to workforce training for displaced workers as one solution to a faster economic recovery. Though workforce training recruitment often targets individuals who never attended college as a young adult, even individuals who already hold a postsecondary credential may need additional training to recover from current unemployment and to prepare for the post-COVID-19 economy.

Today, Results for America and the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University released four new EdResearch for Recovery briefs that highlight evidence-based strategies to help policymakers and educators address key challenges, including:

• How can we support students' social and emotional well-being during and after this pandemic?
• How can we help students who are English Learners (ELs)?
• How can community partnerships help schools and districts meet students' urgent needs?
• What type of tutoring will be most effective to address learning loss and increase student learning?

“Hopefully we come out with new ideas about what engagement and motivation and building connections can look like at a distance,” says Nate Schwartz, professor of practice at the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University and co-founder of EdResearch for Recovery.

Nathaniel Schwartz, an education researcher at Brown University, said districts could also consider tutoring programs, summer school offerings and nightmarish-sounding "double-dose algebra" courses to make up for learning losses.

But first and foremost, he said, kids need to return to school buildings to form strong in-person relationships with adults.

"The schools that seem to have been most successful across this time period are those that have found ways to provide strong connection and support while continuing to push forward on the academic pieces," Schwartz said. "And that's a tall order. That's why the work is feeling so hard to so many people right now."