Not only is the program 鈥� called 鈥� targeted to students who to learn remotely during the pandemic, but the study was conducted by experts who typically advocate for in-person tutoring.

鈥淚 was nicely surprised,鈥� said Susanna Loeb, a Stanford University education researcher and leader of the , which has been tracking efforts to expand high-dosage tutoring. 鈥淭he trick is to get [tutoring] to as many students as we possibly can. Being able to do it virtually could really help in the scaling and expansion of this kind of intensive, individualized attention that many students need.鈥�

The evaluation, conducted in 12 Texas elementary schools as part of the Uplift Education charter network, found that over 1,000 K-2 students in the program scored higher on literacy tests than students without the extra support. The results translated into 26 extra days of learning in letter sounds for kindergartners and 55 extra days on decoding for first graders with a one-on-one tutor. Second graders did not benefit as much from the intervention.

While the virtual program was still less effective than in-person tutoring, the model could be a breakthrough for schools in rural areas and those that have struggled to recruit tutors, Loeb said. Districts’ pandemic recovery efforts have sometimes fallen short because they can鈥檛 find trained educators or volunteers to do the job. And and others has found that only a fraction of students who need extra help take advantage of on-demand virtual tutoring programs. 

OnYourMark Education, a nonprofit, is a contrast to the virtual models that researchers like Loeb have long criticized. It鈥檚 offered four times a week during the school day. The tutors, which include college students, retired educators and those who have worked for other virtual tutoring companies, receive training in the science of reading.

鈥淲e’ve put a stake in the ground that our focus as an organization is to really support students to become proficient readers by the time they reach third and fourth grade,鈥� said Mindy Sjoblom, a former Teach for America middle school teacher and principal who founded OnYourMark in 2021. 

But when the program started with Uplift as a pilot, she wasn鈥檛 sure if the tutors would be able to form strong relationships with young children remotely. 

鈥淲e had to get the timing right,鈥� she said. The 30 minute-blocks they started with didn鈥檛 work well. 鈥淗onestly, that was too long to expect a 5-year-old to sit and attend to anything, not to mention be in front of a screen.鈥�

Twenty minutes, she said, has proven to be the 鈥渟weet spot,鈥� allowing tutors to have informal chats with students 鈥� about what they had for dinner last night, for example, or how their basketball game went 鈥� before diving into a solid 15 minutes of work on decoding and fluency. 

OnYourMark now works with 22 schools in seven states, and Sjoblom said she expects to add more students before the end of this school year. Last fall, Accelerate, an organization funding effective tutoring programs, $250,000 to support the research effort. The organization is also a semifinalist for the , a $1 million award that recognizes successful education providers.

鈥楢 great option鈥�

Loeb鈥檚 team used two common assessments to evaluate the impact of the program 鈥� Dynamic Indicators of Basic Literacy Skills, or DIBELS, and MAP Reading Fluency from NWEA, a testing and research organization.

Kindergartners randomly assigned to OnYourMark recognized 3.5 more letter sounds per minute than students who didn鈥檛 receive tutoring. First graders鈥� mastery of sounds and decoding skills also improved.

Loeb said while the one鈥搕o-one model is clearly stronger, the program is still effective when students work in pairs with a tutor. 

鈥淭his is a great option when staffing is hard,鈥� she said, alleviating the need for tutors to commute and get acclimated to a school. 

The results among second graders were not significant. Sjoblom sees a few reasons for the disappointing outcomes. First, last year鈥檚 second graders were in kindergarten during the 2020-21 school year, when many schools were closed for the pandemic. They didn鈥檛 master a lot of the foundational skills that most kids get in kindergarten and first grade.

Older students struggling to read, she added, get embarrassed and have a harder time staying engaged with tutors remotely.

But Loeb said to get such results from a startup is still impressive. Yasmin Bhatia, the CEO of Uplift, added that future research will focus on the specific skills tutors should focus on with second and third graders.

OnYourMark, she said, has met the network鈥檚 needs in a few ways. First, it鈥檚 hard to find tutoring companies even willing to work with younger students. Most, she said, focus on the 鈥渢ested grades鈥� 鈥� third and higher. School leaders, she added, are 鈥減utting their best talent in those upper level grade levels.鈥�

Uplift, she added, serves a high-poverty population that typically would be unable to afford a private tutor. And when the network offered at-home virtual or afterschool tutoring, participation was inconsistent. Bhatia called OnYourMark 鈥渁nother way to support parents鈥� and ensure young readers are getting the extra help they need.

鈥淲e view it as such a high priority,鈥� she said, 鈥渢hat we made it a part of the school day.鈥�

Disclosure: Overdeck Family Foundation provides support to OnYourMark Education and 社区黑料.