69传媒

Student Achievement

Where Can We Find Lots of Tutors? Bill in Congress Would Deploy Teachers-in-Training

By Stephen Sawchuk 鈥 February 25, 2021 4 min read
Tutoring cost rising
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

Tutoring continues to be suggested as one strong, research-based way to accelerate student learning during COVID-19. But one sticking point continues to be that no one is sure quite how to pay for tutoring, or where to find enough tutors to do it on a large scale.

But what if we use the nation鈥檚 aspiring teacher corps as one source?

That鈥檚 the thrust behind The $500 million proposal would give grants to school districts and teacher preparation programs to use aspiring teachers who are finishing up their teaching program to tutor students at high-needs schools.

The money would pay for recruiting, training, and matching tutors with mentors, providing them stipends, and the logistics of getting the programs up and running. Recent graduates and fully certified teachers who have been laid off due to budget crunches could also be tutors through the program.

It鈥檚 an interesting proposal that, at least on paper, would try to solve two problems in one stroke. First is meeting the growing interest in and demand for tutoring as a strategy to address the academic and social-emotional needs of K-12 students.

The second is finding an avenue for strengthening the hands-on experiences that education colleges give their candidates before they assume classrooms of their own鈥攕omething that鈥檚 proved challenging during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Leah Wasburn-Moses, a professor of education psychology at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, noted that it鈥檚 been especially difficult to find remote-learning placements; many districts have been so stretched they haven鈥檛 been receptive to hosting candidates.

鈥淚t鈥檚 seen as an extra thing, and they just cannot do an extra thing,鈥 she said. 鈥淓veryone is stressed out and maxed out, and unfortunately the traditional way field placement is done doesn鈥檛 benefit districts as much as it should, or the benefit isn鈥檛 necessarily seen.鈥

What would high-quality tutoring look like anyway?

The proposal is generally aligned with the solid research base on tutoring. For one thing, prior research supports the idea that paraprofessionals and trained adults who aren鈥檛 teachers can be as effective as certified teachers. (Unpaid, volunteer tutors are not as effective.)

The proposal specifies that tutors should be paired with experienced teachers to mentor them, be aligned with the local curriculum, not exceed a ratio of one tutor to four students, and be embedded in the school day鈥攏ot as an after-school add-on. Those tenets are all in line with the research on tutoring programs.

It also specifies that the tutoring must not 鈥渞esult in the tracking or negative labeling of students, or remediation.鈥

Wasburn-Moses, who is also the author of a said she liked the general idea behind the proposal. Candidates still need practice instructing an entire class of students, but tutoring could be one piece in candidates鈥 field experiences, she said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 doing teacher education the right way to meet the needs of schools and give teacher candidates what they need, which is hands-on, boots-on-the-ground experiences with young people, supported by expert teachers,鈥 she said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what works in teacher education. If we can provide incentives to do that when everyone is struggling right now, it鈥檚 really a no-brainer.鈥

An important caveat: Proposals to create new programs like this almost never move on their own. They鈥檙e usually attached to much bigger pieces of legislation. The natural fit for this bill would be the third coronavirus stimulus package, which is now gathering steam on Capitol Hill.

The Biden administration has already said it wants to reserve $130 billion of a $1.9 trillion package to boost learning, including summer school, extended learning, and tutoring. (The U.S. House of Representatives picks up that package Feb. 26.)

One stumbling block to passage could be that the association that represents education schools isn鈥檛 supportive of the proposal as it鈥檚 currently written.

The proposal would allow some recipients to work off some of the requirements of their through their tutoring efforts instead of serving as classroom teachers, noted Jane West, a policy consultant to the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. (TEACH grants pay for teaching program tuition if candidates commit to working in high-needs schools for four years.)

That could weaken an already-shaky pipeline of teachers, she said, pointing to a continued decline in the number of people entering the profession.

West also worries that the proposal could be duplicative. The Biden administration鈥檚 $130 billion proposal would presumably already support these activities.

鈥淚f we鈥檙e going to spend $500 million, I鈥檇 want to see it invested in preparing and placing more teachers in high-needs schools, given that there are these other funding streams for tutors,鈥 she said.

Are you a college or a district using teacher-candidates to support tutoring or acceleration efforts? Write to us at ssawchuk@educationweek.org or mwill@educationweek.org

Events

School & District Management Webinar Crafting Outcomes-Based Contracts That Work for Everyone
Discover the power of outcomes-based contracts and how they can drive student achievement.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School & District Management Webinar
Harnessing AI to Address Chronic Absenteeism in 69传媒
Learn how AI can help your district improve student attendance and boost academic outcomes.
Content provided by 
School & District Management Webinar EdMarketer Quick Hit: What鈥檚 Trending among K-12 Leaders?
What issues are keeping K-12 leaders up at night? Join us for EdMarketer Quick Hit: What鈥檚 Trending among K-12 Leaders?

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide 鈥 elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

Student Achievement Spotlight Spotlight on MTSS
This Spotlight explores key aspects of MTSS implementation, including its relationship to special education and effectiveness in improving student outcomes.
Student Achievement This District Provided Tutoring to Thousands of 69传媒. The Results Were Mixed
A new study suggests that tutoring at scale could have a smaller impact than advocates had hoped.
6 min read
Waist-up view of early 30s teacher sitting with 11 year old Hispanic student at library round table and holding book as she pronounces the words.
E+
Student Achievement Spotlight Spotlight on High-Impact Tutoring
This Spotlight will help you learn what makes tutoring effective, identify how to make tutoring financially sustainable, and more.


Student Achievement What the Research Says Socioeconomic Status Matters in Student Achievement鈥擝ut It鈥檚 Not Everything
Data suggests that a significant portion of the achievement gap could be tied to socioeconomic status.
5 min read
Illustration of a large brick wall with graduation cap and books on top of the wall and two silhouetted males sitting and standing at the base of wall and looking up.
Gina Tomko/Education Week + Canva