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The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –
Throwing money at tutoring for pandemic learning loss appears to have failed in delivering any tangible results for Nashville Public School students.
A recent report from Brown University researchers suggests that Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) students are not improving academically despite increased funding given to combat the learning loss that students suffered due to school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic.
After tracking the academic progress in a study of about 7,000 students in the district who had received tutoring for two years – 2021-2023 – it was noted that the investment of taxpayer dollars in tutoring barely increased test scores in reading, and worse, made no improvements in mathematics.
The study’s research team was led by education and economics Associate Professor Matthew Kraft of Brown University. Brown was recently chosen to serve as the Biden administration’s senior economist at the White House Council of Economic Advisers as an advisor on improvements of both the economy and education.
As stated in the report, the district grew its number of tutors for its Accelerating Scholars program by switching from a volunteer model to offering teachers stipends for tutoring. As for scheduling limitations, the district decided to offer tutoring immediately before and after school, as well as during the school day, in hopes to improve student academics.
Additionally, the district gradually extended the program across two years, eventually providing over 6,800 students a total of 125,000 hours of tutoring.
Kraft said that the results were not as large as many in the education sector had hoped.
One of the conclusions of the report was that time was likely one of the factors leading to the tutoring being less helpful than anticipated. Most students who participated in one semester of tutoring received a total of 15 hours over 10 weeks during 2021-2022, and a total of 18 hours over 12 weeks in 2022-2023.
Initially, Accelerating Scholars was expected to give students 90 minutes of tutoring per week. This was first organized into three 30-minute tutoring sessions per week but for some students that changed to two 45-minute sessions per week.
The report also found that students who were in the middle of the pack in reading, the 40th to 60th percentiles in performance, saw the most benefit. Likewise, students in the 50th to 70th percentile for math saw positive effects.
Up to nearly half of MNPS students score below the 25th percentile nationally in reading (with 39% below the 15th percentile) and 46% of students score below the 25th percentile in math, with almost a third of students scoring below the 15th percentile.
The program, designed by MNPS, provided a supplemental source of instruction in core grade-level content by means of a set curricula meant for the average student. A universal approach as compared to a more personalized model for a student’s individual needs.
At an estimated cost of $750 per student per semester, or $1,500 per student per school year, there is some question as to whether MNPS will be able to continue the program, while making improvements to it, in order to see results.
The funding for the Accelerating Scholars program came mostly from sources outside of the school district including from the Bloomberg Foundation, federal ESSER funds, and the state’s TN ALL Corps program. But the money is not guaranteed for the future, and with 80% of the costs going to stipends for tutors – primarily MNPS teachers – the ability of the district to continue the program may depend on the district’s budget being able to assume those costs.
About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
