Today, the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) shared early findings from a study that shows high-impact tutoring (HIT) has positive attendance benefits for DC students. The preliminary findings from research conducted by the National Student Support Accelerator at Stanford University provide evidence that DC students participating in HIT were more likely to attend school on days they had a tutoring session scheduled. While the comprehensive results of this study will be published later, these initial findings highlight the potential of HIT to support stronger school attendance.

“HIT is a research-based intervention that has long been available for higher-income families. Our investment is helping level the playing field of access, and we are seeing it pay off. HIT is helping to reinforce the importance and power of consistent, positive relationships with students and the adults who support them at school,” said State Superintendent of Education Dr. Christina Grant. “These early findings show us what we would expect from this evidence-based intervention – one-on-one and small group, personalized high-impact tutoring sessions that are grounded in strong relationships have benefits that extend beyond improved math and literacy scores.”

Preliminary finding highlights include:

• Students were less likely to be absent on days when they had a scheduled tutoring session, with a reduction in the probability of absence by 6.9 percent.
• Middle school students experienced the largest positive effects, with scheduled tutoring sessions decreasing the probability of absence by 11.4 percent.
• For students who missed 30 percent or more of school days during the prior school year, a scheduled tutoring session decreased the probability of being absent by 7.3 percent. The effect of regularly scheduled tutoring would translate into these students attending 5.2 more days of school over the course of the year.

OSSE has committed over $33 million in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds over three years to fund high-impact tutoring in math and literacy. Currently, OSSE is on track to exceed the goal of reaching 10 percent, or approximately 10,000 students, with HIT programs by the fall of 2024 and has reached over 140 schools and community-based sites. The HIT initiative has focused on expanding access to high-impact tutoring with a focus DC’s highest need students and schools. After a full launch in the 2022-23 school year, the 2023-24 school year is focused on further strengthening implementation and supporting continuous improvement.

To learn more about OSSE’s HIT initiative, visit the OSSE website.