Outcomes of a High-Dosage Literacy Tutoring Program

In response to consistently low literacy proficiency in early elementary grades, the Niswonger Foundation, a technical assistance provider that supports districts in northeastern Tennessee, developed Project On-Track to provide high-dosage, small-group literacy tutoring to students in grades 1–3. While the content of tutoring sessions is highly structured and prescribed, Project On-Track offers schools flexibility in how they implement the program, including when they provide tutoring and who provides tutoring. Flexibility in how schools implement a program can make it easier for schools to adopt it, particularly for rural schools, which may face greater challenges in hiring tutors or delivering tutoring outside of the school day. However, variation in implementation may also impact program effectiveness.  This study from REL Appalachia describes how schools implemented Project On-Track, the characteristics of students who received Project On-Track tutoring, and how variation in implementation is associated with improvement in student literacy scores at the end of the school year.  The study found no differences in student literacy scores based on timing or frequency of tutoring or based on tutor qualifications. Although this study uses descriptive methods and cannot assess effectiveness, the findings suggest that schools and districts using a highly structured tutoring program like Project On-Track might be able to exercise flexibility in when and how often tutoring is offered and by whom without compromising program quality and benefits to students.