Tutoring Emerges as a Leading Strategy to Address Pandemic-Era Learning Loss

As school systems across the United States and around the world confront the wide‑ranging fallout from COVID‑19–related educational disruptions, tutoring—especially high‑dosage, in‑school tutoring—is rapidly emerging as one of the most effective tools to reverse learning loss. A growing consensus among researchers suggests that targeted, individualized instruction delivered regularly during the school day can produce measurable academic gains significantly greater than those from traditional classroom instruction or less intensive interventions. Landmark foundational research, known as Bloom’s “2 sigma” problem, showed that one‑to‑one tutoring paired with mastery learning techniques delivered achievement results two standard deviations above typical classroom instruction, placing tutored students above 98 percent of their peers in controllable settings—although Bloom recognized such precision was hard to replicate at scale.

Contemporary studies validate the power of tutoring in more practical, scalable settings. A University of Chicago study of nearly 2,000 students across Chicago Public Schools and Fulton County Schools revealed that in‑school high‑dosage tutoring programs during the 2022‑23 school year produced statistically significant math gains, even when compared with districts offering after‑school or on‑demand tutoring models that saw minimal results due to low participation. Similarly, a comprehensive meta‑analysis of 96 randomized evaluations across high‑income countries found that tutoring produced average learning gains equivalent to moving a student from the 50th to the 66th percentile—effect sizes far higher than those associated with summer school, reduced class sizes, or extended learning time.

The U.S. Department of Education and independent analysts identify high‑quality tutoring as one of four evidence‑based acceleration strategies to combat learning loss, emphasizing that tutoring is most effective when delivered by trained professionals at school during class time, with sessions of at least 30 minutes, three or more times a week. The model yields especially strong impacts when small ratios are used—typically one tutor per three or four students in early grades, and one-to-one in kindergarten and first grade—delivering the most benefit in basic literacy and early math.

Evidence from secondary schools is also compelling: tutoring at that level produced effect sizes around 0.21 to 0.28 standard deviations—less dramatic than in elementary settings, but still meaningful for students older than fifth grade. Examples of successful implementation illustrate both effectiveness and challenges. Saga Education’s high‑dosage math tutoring in Chicago high schools resulted in participating students gaining as much as one to two years of math achievement in a single year, and failure rates dropped by more than half.

Reading Partners, a nonprofit operating in over 40 districts, reported that over 87 percent of students in its reading centers met or exceeded growth goals thanks to structured, individualized volunteer tutoring sessions. Despite robust outcomes, scaling high‑dosage tutoring remains a challenge. By late 2022 only about 37 percent of schools offered such programs, and national participation rates hovered at just 11 percent—even though demand surges among students furthest behind academically.

Key barriers include staffing shortages, funding cuts as federal COVID relief winds down, and logistical constraints such as scheduling tutoring sessions within school hours without disrupting classroom instruction. Observers note that under‑resourced districts and schools with high proportions of low‑income or multilingual students face the most acute hurdles, even though these are precisely the settings where tutoring can have the greatest equity impact. International evidence further supports tutoring’s impact.

Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS)—AI‑based platforms that adapt instruction to student responses—have achieved moderate to large effect sizes (around 0.66), particularly in STEM subjects and among learners from disadvantaged backgrounds. Emerging hybrid models that combine human tutoring with AI systems are also showing promise, though questions remain around accessibility and digital equity. A growing number of school districts and states are stepping up.

In Tennessee, a $200 million initiative engaged more than 150,000 students in math and reading support—with encouraging early results in proficiency gains and positive student feedback. Compton Unified in California saw marked improvements, with tutoring, data-driven instruction, and expanded learning time helping student performance rebound sharply compared with similarly disadvantaged districts nationwide. In Houston’s Spring Branch ISD, targeted tutoring combined with early in‑person reopening, attendance supports, and summer programs helped reverse local trends despite statewide stagnation in test scores.

Critics caution that tutoring is not a silver bullet. Australia's highly funded statewide tutoring program in Victoria failed to produce gains and was labeled ineffective because of poor targeting, weak integration with classroom curricula, and high absenteeism. Researchers stress that tutoring must be aligned with instruction, well administered, and properly matched to student needs to deliver impact.

As federal pandemic funds expire, sustaining and scaling tutoring programs will depend on states, districts, and schools prioritizing investment in staffing, curricula, and program infrastructure. Experts advocate for leveraging paraprofessionals—including university students and AmeriCorps volunteers—trained under structured models to reduce costs while maintaining quality. If scaled appropriately, tutoring holds immense potential—not only reversing pandemic-era learning loss but narrowing achievement gaps, boosting student confidence, and preserving future opportunity.

Though tutoring requires sustained commitment and resources, for many educators and policy leaders it already represents the most promising tool available to support student recovery in the years ahead..