export_ofoct.com

[00:00.38] A federal government report from December found that half of all U.S. students started this school year behind their grade level in at least one subject.

[00:13.40] Many American education experts say tutoring is the best way to help students make up for learning loss during the COVID-19 pandemic.

[00:25.88] But, although many schools have received a lot of federal aid, only a small number of students have been getting tutored.

[00:35.70] That finding comes from research by the nonprofit news organization Chalkbeat and the Associated Press.

[00:44.21] The two organizations surveyed 12 of the nation’s school systems.

[00:50.05] Eight systems provided information.

[00:53.50] The schools reported that fewer than 10 percent of students received any kind of tutoring in the fall of last year.

[01:03.07] A new tutoring group in Chicago served about three percent of students, officials said.

[01:11.30] But less than one percent of students in three big school systems received tutoring.

[01:19.01] They were Georgia’s Gwinnett County, Florida’s Miami-Dade County, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

[01:26.97] Philadelphia reported that 800 students had been tutored.

[01:32.29] In those three systems, there are more than 600,000 students who spent no time in a tutoring program last fall.

[01:42.38] The low tutoring numbers suggest several problems.

[01:46.63] Some parents said they did not know tutoring was available or did not think their child needed it.

[01:53.80] Some school systems have struggled to hire tutors.

[01:57.79] Other school systems said their small tutoring programs were part of their efforts to meet students’ greatest needs.

[02:06.55] Whatever the reason, the result is clear: at an important time for students’ recovery, millions of children have not received the extra help.

[02:18.51] “It works, it’s effective, it gets students to improve in their learning and catch up,” said Amie Rapaport.

[02:28.33] She is a researcher with the University of Southern California (USC) who is studying why so many students are not getting intensive tutoring.

[02:40.28] The Indianapolis school district last year began two tutoring programs that connect students with teachers by video link.

[02:51.17] One is available to all students after school. The other is offered during the day for some low-performing schools.

[03:01.00] District officials said the tutoring test program improved student test scores.

[03:08.44] Parents also liked the program.

[03:11.89] The two programs served 3,200 students last fall.

[03:17.20] That is about 17 percent of students in district schools.

[03:22.52] Two other tutoring programs operate at a small number of schools.

[03:28.62] The school district also said that only 35 percent of the students who registered for after-school tutoring last fall attended more than one session.

[03:40.31] Marc Ransford is the Indianapolis Public Schools spokesperson.

[03:46.16] He said the district wants to improve attendance and hopes to sign up more students for tutoring next school year.

[03:55.72] A federal survey from December found schools reported that about 10 percent of students received intensive tutoring several days a week.

[04:07.67] The real number could be lower. Only two percent of U.S. households said their children are getting intensive tutoring, a study from USC found.

[04:19.89] Schools trying to increase tutoring face problems, including hiring and planning.

[04:27.33] Experts say tutoring is most effective when provided three times a week for at least 30 minutes during school hours.

[04:37.42] Offering after-school or weekend tutoring is simpler, but attendance is often low.

[04:45.12] Low family interest has been another problem.

[04:49.64] Although test scores sharply dropped during the pandemic, many parents do not believe their children experienced learning loss.

[04:59.20] In Wake County, North Carolina, the school district began planning a reading tutoring program in November.

[05:08.23] District officials last month said volunteers are tutoring fewer than 140 students.

[05:15.94] That is far fewer than the 1,000 students the program was designed to help.

[05:23.37] Many worry that not enough students are getting the help they need even as programs continue to grow.