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Ask A REL Response

February 2017

Question

What research has been conducted on reading gains made as a result of after school tutoring?

Response

Following an established REL Southeast research protocol, we conducted a search for research reports as well as descriptive study articles on teacher professional development. We focused on identifying resources that specifically addressed the effects of professional development on teacher performance and student outcomes in K-12 education. The sources included ERIC and other federally funded databases and organizations, research institutions, academic research databases, and general Internet search engines (For details, please see the methods section at the end of this memo.)

We have not evaluated the quality of references and the resources provided in this response. We offer them only for your reference. Also, we searched the references in the response from the most commonly used resources of research, but they are not comprehensive and other relevant references and resources may exist.

Research References

  1. Beckett, M., Borman, G., Capizzano, J., Parsley, D., Ross, S., Schirm, A., & Taylor, J. (2009). Structuring out-of-school time to improve academic achievement: A practice guide (NCEE #2009-012). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED505962
    From the abstract: "Out-of-school time programs can enhance academic achievement by helping students learn outside the classroom. The purpose of this practice guide is to provide recommendations for organizing and delivering school-based out-of-school time (OST) programs to improve the academic achievement of student participants. The five recommendations in this guide are intended to help district and school administrators, out-of-school program providers, and educators design out-of-school time programs that will increase learning for students. These recommendations are: (1) Align the OST program academically with the school day; (2) Maximize student participation and attendance; (3) Adapt instruction to individual and small group needs; (4) Provide engaging learning experiences; and (5) Assess program performance and use the results to improve the quality of the program. The guide also describes the research supporting each recommendation, how to carry out each recommendation, and how to address roadblocks that might arise in implementing them. The scope of this practice guide is limited to programs that (1) serve elementary and middle school students; (2) are organized by or conducted in partnership with a school or school district; and (3) aim to improve academic outcomes. Appendices include: (1) Postscript from the Institute of Education Sciences; (2) About the authors; (3) Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest; and (4) Technical information on the studies. (Contains 9 tables, 1 exhibit, and 421 footnotes.) [This report was prepared for the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences by the What Works Clearinghouse, a project of Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.]"
  2. Black, A. R., Doolittle, F., Zhu, P., Unterman, R., and Grossman, J. B. (2008). The evaluation of enhanced academic instruction in after-school programs: Findings after the first year of Implementation (NCEE 2008-4021). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED501655
    From the abstract: "This report presents findings, after one year of program implementation, from the Evaluation of Enhanced Academic Instruction in After-School Programs--a two-year intervention and random assignment evaluation of adapted models of regular-school-day math and reading instruction in after-school settings for students in grades 2 through 5. This evaluation seeks to determine whether the enhanced after-school instruction improves math or reading proficiency over what students would achieve in regular after-school programs, as measured by test scores. The evaluation also examines the impacts of the enhanced after-school instruction for subgroups of students based on their prior academic performance and grade level. The evaluation seeks to ascertain whether the enhanced after-school instruction affects other in-school academic behavior outcomes, as measured by reports from regular-school-day teachers of student engagement, behavior, and homework completion. (Contains 3 boxes, 51 tables, and 13 figures.)"
  3. Burch, P., Heinrich, C., & Good, A. (2013). Improving the quality of and access to federally funded, digital out of school time tutoring. Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED563207
    From the abstract: "Because digital tutoring is rapidly expanding, more rigorous, independent evaluations of their effectiveness is critical to inform federal, state, and local policy decisions that influence their role and application of technology in educating underserved students. The in-depth observations and vignettes in this paper illustrate the challenges in documenting and measuring technology use and its impact in out-of-school time (OST) tutoring interventions on student learning. Currently, the limited, self-generated information that is disseminated by providers to parents and students does not usefully guide parent and student choices of OST tutoring providers. This paper generates important and generalizable insights on the nature of digital OST instruction, including what constitutes and contributes to high-quality OST tutoring in digital contexts. The longitudinal mixed-method design used in this study integrates rigorous, quasi-experimental analysis of OST tutoring program impacts on student achievement with an in-depth, comprehensive examination of the intervention--provider instructional practice in different program models and settings, the nature and quality of tutoring provided, and district-level program administration--in and across six large, urban school districts. Findings show that digital tutoring is, on average, negatively correlated with student performance in mathematics and reading (i.e., when comparing students served by digital vs. non-digital providers). Coupled with in-depth qualitative research into the nature of the instructional setting in digital OST, the factors impacting the design of the instructional setting, and its impact on student learning, researchers identify several characteristics or conditions that they hypothesize are likely to determine digital tutoring effectiveness: access (including hardware and software), the role of the tutor, and the nature of curriculum and assessment."
  4. Fleming, M. H. (2005). "Two together" after school: A literacy tutoring project. School Community Journal, 15(1), 75-88. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ794815
    From the abstract: "Research shows that after-school programs with structured literacy components can contribute positively to children's success in school, improvement in their reading and also in general social skills, and that successful programs involve partnerships with the community and continually expanding outreach to parents and caregivers. This program report describes just such an after-school and summer enrichment program, with the aim of identifying which aspects of the program are replicable, the specific markers of its success, and perhaps even determine further ways of measuring that success. (Contains 1 endnote.)"
  5. Heinrich, C. J., Burch, P., Good, A., Acosta, R., Cheng, H., Dillender, M., Kirshbaum, C., Nisar, H., & Stewart, M. (2014). Improving the implementation and effectiveness of out-of-school-time tutoring. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 33(2), 471-494. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1027722
    From the abstract: "School districts are spending millions on tutoring outside regular school day hours for economically and academically disadvantaged students in need of extra academic assistance. Under No Child Left Behind (NCLB), parents of children in persistently low-performing schools were allowed to choose their child's tutoring provider, and together with school districts, they were also primarily responsible for holding providers in the private market accountable for performance. We present results from a multisite, mixed-method longitudinal study of the impact of out-of-school time (OST) tutoring on student reading and mathematics achievement that link provider attributes and policy and program administration variables to tutoring program effectiveness. We find that many students are not getting enough hours of high-quality, differentiated instruction to produce significant gains in their learning, in part because of high hourly rates charged by providers for tutoring. We identify strategies and policy levers that school districts can use to improve OST tutoring policy design and launch improved programs as waivers from NCLB are granted."
  6. Heinrich, C. J., Burch, P., Good, A., Acosta, R., Cheng, H., Dillender, M., Kirshbaum, C., Nisar, H., & Stewart, M. (2014). Improving the implementation and effectiveness of out-of-school-time tutoring. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 33(2), 471-494. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1027722
    From the abstract: "School districts are spending millions on tutoring outside regular school day hours for economically and academically disadvantaged students in need of extra academic assistance. Under No Child Left Behind (NCLB), parents of children in persistently low-performing schools were allowed to choose their child's tutoring provider, and together with school districts, they were also primarily responsible for holding providers in the private market accountable for performance. We present results from a multisite, mixed-method longitudinal study of the impact of out-of-school time (OST) tutoring on student reading and mathematics achievement that link provider attributes and policy and program administration variables to tutoring program effectiveness. We find that many students are not getting enough hours of high-quality, differentiated instruction to produce significant gains in their learning, in part because of high hourly rates charged by providers for tutoring. We identify strategies and policy levers that school districts can use to improve OST tutoring policy design and launch improved programs as waivers from NCLB are granted."
  7. Johnson, K. F., Gupta, A., Rosen, H., & Rosen H. (2013). Improving reading comprehension through holistic intervening and tutoring during after-school with high risk minority elementary school students. Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 21(4), 431-443. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1023494
    From the abstract: "The current study took a quasi-experimental approach investigating the effect of a holistic after-school intervention, on reading comprehension measured by the Gray Oral Reading Test (GORT)-4 on at-risk students in Grade 2 through Grade 5. Analysis of Variance was used to investigate the relationship between pre- and post-intervention scores. The study showed encouraging results. The 91 student participants showed gains in their GORT-4 total scores after the intervention. Results of after-school tutoring lend support to the use of peer-tutoring in afterschool in the elementary schools. Due to the exploratory nature of the study in a single school, there are constraints on generalizability and utility of findings to other schools across the board."
  8. Lauer, P. A., Akiba, M., Wilkerson, S. B., Apthorp, H. S., Snow, D., & Martin-Glenn, M. L. (2006). Out-of-school-time programs: A meta-analysis of effects for at-risk students. Review of Educational Research, 76(2), 275-313. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ751154
    From the abstract: "Schools and districts are adopting out-of-school-time (OST) programs such as after-school programs and summer schools to supplement the education of low-achieving students. However, research has painted a mixed picture of their effectiveness. To clarify OST impacts, this synthesis examined research on OST programs for assisting at-risk students in reading and/or mathematics. Researchers analyzed 35 OST studies that employed control or comparison groups and met other inclusion criteria. Meta-analyses indicated small but statistically significant positive effects of OST on both reading and mathematics student achievement and larger positive effect sizes for programs with specific characteristics such as tutoring in reading. Whether the OST program took place after school or during the summer did not make a difference in effectiveness."
  9. Saddler, B., & Staulters, M. (2008). Beyond tutoring: After-school literacy intervention. Intervention in School and Clinic,43(4), 203-209. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ796760
    From the abstract: "One of the greatest challenges facing teachers is accommodating struggling, diverse, and at-risk readers. Even with the use of effective, research-based techniques, many children fail to make adequate progress in reading and may need additional assistance. One way to provide this assistance is through tutoring. This article outlines a successful after-school reading project that utilized university graduate students as tutors for struggling readers. The authors discuss both challenges and solutions associated with the project. (Contains 2 figures.)"
  10. Zimmer, R., Hamilton, L., & Christina, R. (2010). After-school tutoring in the context of No Child Left Behind: Effectiveness of two programs in the Pittsburgh Public Schools. Economics of Education Review, 29(1), 18-28. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ869948
    From the abstract: "The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation has created pressure for districts to improve their students' proficiency levels on state tests. Districts that fail to meet their academic targets for 3 years must use their Title I funds to pay for supplemental education services (SES) that provide tutoring or other academic instruction. Many districts, including the Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS), have also adopted additional tutoring programs designed to help students reach proficiency goals. This paper examines student participation and achievement in two PPS tutoring programs--the NCLB-mandated SES program and a state-developed tutoring program. We examine the characteristics of students participating in each program, the effects of participation on student achievement, and the program features that are associated with improved achievement."

Additional Organizations to Consult

Afterschool Alliance: http://www.afterschoolalliance.org/
From the website: "The Afterschool Alliance was established in 2000 by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the U.S. Department of Education, J.C. Penney Company, Inc., the Open Society Institute/The After-School Corporation, the Entertainment Industry Foundation and the Creative Artists Agency Foundation. Goals:

  • To be an effective voice for afterschool in efforts to expand quality afterschool programs.
  • To serve as an information source on afterschool programs and resources.
  • To encourage the development of local, state and national afterschool constituencies and systems.
  • To communicate the impact of afterschool programs on children, families and communities.

Methods

Keywords and Search Strings
The following keywords and search strings were used to search the reference databases and other sources:

  • after school tutor, reading growth
  • tutoring, reading instruction, after school programs
  • Tutoring, After School Programs, Public Schools

Databases and Resources
We searched ERIC for relevant resources. ERIC is a free online library of over 1.6 million citations of education research sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences. Additionally, we searched Google Scholar and PsychInfo.

Reference Search and Selection Criteria

When we were searching and reviewing resources, we considered the following criteria:

  • Date of the publication: References and resources published for last 15 years, from 2001 to present, were include in the search and review.
  • Search Priorities of Reference Sources: Search priority is given to study reports, briefs, and other documents that are published and/or reviewed by IES and other federal or federally funded organizations, academic databases, including ERIC, EBSCO databases, JSTOR database, PsychInfo, PsychArticle, and Google Scholar.
  • Methodology: Following methodological priorities/considerations were given in the review and selection of the references: (a) study types - randomized control trials,, quasi experiments, surveys, descriptive data analyses, literature reviews, policy briefs, etc., generally in this order (b) target population, samples (representativeness of the target population, sample size, volunteered or randomly selected, etc.), study duration, etc. (c) limitations, generalizability of the findings and conclusions, etc.

This memorandum is one in a series of quick-turnaround responses to specific questions posed by educational stakeholders in the Southeast Region (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina), which is served by the Regional Educational Laboratory Southeast at Florida State University. This memorandum was prepared by REL Southeast under a contract with the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES), Contract ED-IES-17-C-0011, administered by Florida State University. Its content does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of IES or the U.S. Department of Education nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.