The challenge
Many teenagers in Chicago's high schools were behind in math, and there was growing concern that it was too difficult or costly to help students that age catch up.
The case
The nonprofit Saga Education ran intensive math tutoring in Chicago public high schools: a class period every day, with one trained tutor for every two students, at a cost of $3,500 to $4,300 per student per year. Researchers from the University of Chicago tested it in two randomised trials. In the first, with 2,633 9th and 10th graders, tutoring raised math test scores by 0.16 standard deviations and improved grades in math and other subjects. A second trial, with 2,710 students, found larger math test score gains of 0.37 standard deviations, and similar effects on grades. The effects lasted into later years.
Why it worked
Tutoring built into the school day showed that it isn't too late to help teenagers who are far behind. The researchers found the gains came from the teaching itself, not a general mentoring effect, and estimated a benefit-cost ratio comparable to many successful early-childhood programs.
Sources
- Guryan, J., Ludwig, J., Bhatt, M. P., et al. (2023). Not too late: Improving academic outcomes among adolescents. American Economic Review, 113(3), 738–765.
- NBER Working Paper 28531 (2021), same title.
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