Synapse Lab Seminar: Scaling promising practices – The case of high-impact tutoring in response to the pandemic

Scaling promising practices: The case of high-impact tutoring in response to the pandemic

As we emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic, we are faced with the challenge of emotionally and academically re-engaging students, many of whom have been chronically absent from school and have experienced severe social stresses.

The research base, including a recent meta-analysis from JPAL, identifies specific forms of tutoring as a particularly promising approach for addressing these students' needs. Yet, substantial research also points to the difficulty of scaling promising practices effectively.

This project draws key lessons from prior attempts to scale – such as the importance of adaptation, facilitation, and quality – and works to implement those lessons through engagement, tool development, and research.

The talk describes the approach, current learning from a study of implementation across multiple states and districts, and research to date using relatively fast turnaround randomized control trials to assess the effects of program elements to support adaptation and improvement.