Principal Investigator
Monica Bhatt – University of Chicago EdLab
Project Description
This study evaluates the impact, implementation, and cost-effectiveness of multiple tutoring models across a large-scale, multi-state randomized controlled trial. The Personalized Learning Initiative (PLI) includes approximately 20,000 students across eight districts in seven states, with plans to expand to roughly 30,000–35,000 students to enable more precise estimates of personalized treatment effects. Students are randomly assigned within schools to receive different types of tutoring, varying by format (in-person, virtual, hybrid), subject focus (math or reading), and intensity (dosage), or to continue with business-as-usual instruction. The study uses administrative data on student achievement along with detailed information on program implementation and student characteristics to estimate both average impacts and variation in effectiveness across tutoring models and student groups. In addition, the research incorporates a mixed-methods implementation study to examine how tutoring is delivered in real-world school settings and a cost study using the ingredients method to estimate the resources required for different tutoring approaches. The study aims to generate actionable evidence for policymakers on which tutoring models are most effective, for whom, and under what conditions, as well as the tradeoffs between impact and cost at scale.
Research Questions
- What is the overall impact of tutoring on student learning outcomes?
- How do different tutoring models and features (e.g., format, subject, dosage) vary in effectiveness across student groups?
- How do implementation and cost differences across tutoring models influence their effectiveness and scalability?
