Recent New Jersey Student Learning Assessments data found that only 46 percent of third grade students scored proficient or better in math, down from 51 percent in 2019. In English language arts, that rate dropped from 50 percent in 2019 to 42 percent in 2023.
The New Jersey Tutoring Corps provides high-dosage tutoring in math and literacy for Pre-K through eighth grade students across New Jersey. The program uses one of three evidence-based models to deliver its support directly to students: embedded during the school day, scheduled after school, or integrated into summer programming.
In SY 2022-23, the New Jersey Tutoring Corps piloted its embedded school-day program designed to provide high-dosage tutoring as part of the school day for students. Groups of one to four students met for 30- to 60-minute sessions two to three times per week, with the same tutor for the duration of the program, which typically lasted 12 to 15 weeks.
An external evaluation of the school-day program, conducted by Dr. Ellen Behrstock-Sherratt, found that, of the approximately 500 students served during the 12 to 15 week evaluation period, the percentage performing at grade level in math improved from 16 to 40 percent across grade levels; in literacy, the percent of students at grade level grew from 23 to 40 percent. Proficiency gains were particularly large in math, an important finding given a substantial body of research linking early math skills to long-term benefits for students. Importantly, students’ confidence in their own skills as learners and their academic content knowledge also improved.
Overdeck Family Foundation helped conceive and found the New Jersey Tutoring Corps in 2021, as a response to COVID-induced learning loss across the state. Since then, we have provided consultative support and general operating grants, which helped the organization unlock additional sources of funding, establish its 501(c)(3) status, and work towards a long-term strategy to improve sustainability and increase reach.
