The importance of aligning tutoring to grade-level content
The importance of aligning tutoring to grade-level content
There have always been students who struggle academically and substantial educational disparities; nevertheless, the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed these and continues to make them more apparent. “Research suggests more students have experienced more unfinished learning over the last year than ever before” (Steiner et al., 2021). The findings are no surprise to educational leaders, yet, they are left with the tough choice of how to best handle the situations to prevent even more extensive long-term consequences.
Tutoring has always been seen as a powerful educational tool to assist students in their academic endeavors. It is considered “one of the most effective ways to increase achievement for students from lower-income families” (Robinson et al., 2021). Unfortunately, teachers and paraprofessionals are often left with few resources when implementing this strategy. As a result, they have to turn to a remediation approach which includes using below-grade-level content to address unfinished learning (Lambert et al., 2020). However, focusing on what students have already failed to master has been proven to be an ineffective technique, as students tend to fall further behind (Robinson et al., 2021).
Educational leaders should strive to provide an acceleration approach to address the existing knowledge gaps. A process like this one consists of tutoring focused on grade-level content. Better said, professionals, help students by providing the specific support needed to learn the content currently being taught at their grade level. In fact, a report published by TNTP found that “When students who started the year behind had greater access to grade-appropriate assignments, they closed the outcomes gap with their peers by more than seven months” (2018).
The importance of having tutoring aligned with classroom content is evident. At Entheon, we ensure that tutors are qualified and experienced in their respective subjects to help students by providing real-time support as they encounter obstacles in the grade-level content. Furthermore, we are committed to tackling learning loss and strive to provide the students with the best strategies to help them bridge existing knowledge gaps effectively.
Resources:
Lambert, M., & Sassone, J. (2020). Accelerate, Don't Remediate: An Instructional Framework for Meeting the Needs of the Most Vulnerable Students after COVID School Closures. Journal for Leadership and Instruction, 19(2), 8-13.
Robinson, C, D., Kraft, M. A., Leob, S., & Schueler, B. E., (2021). Accelerating Student Learning with High-Dosage Tutoring. EdResearch for Recover Design Principal Series. EdResearch for recovery project
Steiner, D., M., & Mitnick, E., (2021). To Get Tutoring Right, Connect It to the Classroom. Education Week. Retrieved from: https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/opinion-to-get-tutoring-right-connect-it-to-the-classroom/2021/12
TNTP. (2018). The Opportunity Myth: What Students Can Show Us About How School Is Letting Them Down—and How to Fix It. https://tntp.org/assets/documents/TNTP_The-Opportunity-Myth_Web.pdf