Author(s)

Kraft, M. A., List, J. A., Livingston, J. A., & Sadoff, S. (2022).

Year
2022
APA Citation

Kraft, M. A., List, J. A., Livingston, J. A., & Sadoff, S. (2022, May). Online tutoring by college volunteers: Experimental evidence from a pilot program. In AEA Papers and Proceedings (Vol. 112, pp. 614-618). 2014 Broadway, Suite 305, Nashville, TN 37203: American Economic Association.

Topics
Tutoring Program
Math Curriculum
Literacy Curriculum
Target Population
General Education
Students with FRPL/Low Socio-economic status
Grade Level
Middle: Grade 6-8
States
Illinois
Abstract

A substantial body of experimental evidence demonstrates that in-person tutoring programs can have large impacts on K-12 student achievement. However, such programs typically are costly and constrained by a limited local supply of tutors. In partnership with CovEducation (CovEd), we conduct a pilot program that has potential to ease both of these concerns. We conduct an experiment where volunteer tutors from all over the country meet 1-on-1 with middle school students online during the school day. We find that the program produces consistently positive (0.07σ for math and 0.04σ for reading) but statistically insignificant effects on student achievement. While these estimates are notably smaller than those found in many higher-dosage in-person tutoring programs, they are from a significantly lower-cost program that was delivered within the challenging context of the COVID-19 pandemic. We provide evidence that is consistent with a dosage model of tutoring where additional hours result in larger effects.