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Washington State Institute for Public Policy
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Tutoring: By adults, one-on-one, non-structured

Pre-K to 12 Education
Benefit-cost methods last updated December 2024.  Literature review updated May 2020.
The tutoring programs included in this analysis provide one-on-one tutoring to struggling students in English language arts and/or mathematics. The evaluated programs typically allow tutors to exercise their own discretion when selecting and implementing tutoring strategies. The programs typically serve early elementary school students and provide, on average, 35 hours of tutoring time to an individual student over nine months. The tutors are non-certificated adults (e.g. paraeducators and community volunteers) who receive approximately three hours of training.
 
ALL
BENEFIT-COST
META-ANALYSIS
CITATIONS
For an overview of WSIPP's Benefit-Cost Model, please see this guide. The estimates shown are present value, life cycle benefits and costs. All dollars are expressed in the base year chosen for this analysis (2023).  The chance the benefits exceed the costs are derived from a Monte Carlo risk analysis. The details on this, as well as the economic discount rates and other relevant parameters are described in our Technical Documentation.
Benefit-Cost Summary Statistics Per Participant
Benefits to:
Taxpayers $1,152 Benefits minus costs $3,143
Participants $2,715 Benefit to cost ratio $3.19
Others $1,431 Chance the program will produce
Indirect ($718) benefits greater than the costs 71%
Total benefits $4,579
Net program cost ($1,437)
Benefits minus cost $3,143

Meta-analysis is a statistical method to combine the results from separate studies on a program, policy, or topic to estimate its effect on an outcome. WSIPP systematically evaluates all credible evaluations we can locate on each topic. The outcomes measured are the program impacts measured in the research literature (for example, impacts on crime or educational attainment). Treatment N represents the total number of individuals or units in the treatment group across the included studies.

An effect size (ES) is a standard metric that summarizes the degree to which a program or policy affects a measured outcome. If the effect size is positive, the outcome increases. If the effect size is negative, the outcome decreases. See Estimating Program Effects Using Effect Sizes for additional information on how we estimate effect sizes.

The effect size may be adjusted from the unadjusted effect size estimated in the meta-analysis. Historically, WSIPP adjusted effect sizes to some programs based on the methodological characteristics of the study. For programs reviewed in 2024 or later, we do not make additional adjustments, and we use the unadjusted effect size whenever we run a benefit-cost analysis.

Research shows the magnitude of effects may change over time. For those effect sizes, we estimate outcome-based adjustments, which we apply between the first time ES is estimated and the second time ES is estimated. More details about these adjustments can be found in our Technical Documentation.

Meta-Analysis of Program Effects
Outcomes measured Treatment age No. of effect sizes Treatment N Effect sizes (ES) and standard errors (SE) used in the benefit-cost analysis Unadjusted effect size (random effects model)
First time ES is estimated Second time ES is estimated
ES SE Age ES SE Age ES p-value
Test scores
Standardized, validated tests of academic achievement.
11 9 6215 0.030 0.018 11 0.022 0.020 17 0.030 0.095
Grade point average
Non-standardized measure of student performance calculated across subjects.
11 1 175 -0.052 0.107 11 n/a n/a n/a -0.052 0.625
School attendance
Number or percentage of school days present in a given enrollment period.
 11 1 185 0.108 0.104 11 n/a n/a n/a 0.108 0.300
1In addition to the outcomes measured in the meta-analysis table, WSIPP measures benefits and costs estimated from other outcomes associated with those reported in the evaluation literature. For example, empirical research demonstrates that high school graduation leads to reduced crime. These associated measures provide a more complete picture of the detailed costs and benefits of the program.

2“Others” includes benefits to people other than taxpayers and participants. Depending on the program, it could include reductions in crime victimization, the economic benefits from a more educated workforce, and the benefits from employer-paid health insurance.

3“Indirect benefits” includes estimates of the net changes in the value of a statistical life and net changes in the deadweight costs of taxation.
Detailed Monetary Benefit Estimates Per Participant
Affected outcome: Resulting benefits:1 Benefits accrue to:
Taxpayers Participants Others2 Indirect3 Total
Test scores Labor market earnings associated with test scores $1,152 $2,715 $1,431 $0 $5,298
Program cost Adjustment for deadweight cost of program $0 $0 $0 ($718) ($718)
Totals $1,152 $2,715 $1,431 ($718) $4,579
Click here to see populations selected
Detailed Annual Cost Estimates Per Participant
Annual cost Year dollars Summary
Program costs $1,218 2018 Present value of net program costs (in 2023 dollars) ($1,437)
Comparison costs $0 2018 Cost range (+ or -) 20%
In the evaluations included in this analysis, the average non-structured one-on-one tutoring program provides 35 hours of tutoring per student and three hours of training time per tutor. To calculate a per-student annual cost, we use average Washington State compensation costs (including benefits) for K-12 staff (i.e., elementary teachers and paraeducators) as reported by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction for the 2018-19 school year and weight by the treatment samples in each study.
The figures shown are estimates of the costs to implement programs in Washington. The comparison group costs reflect either no treatment or treatment as usual, depending on how effect sizes were calculated in the meta-analysis. The cost range reported above reflects potential variation or uncertainty in the cost estimate; more detail can be found in our Technical Documentation.
Benefits Minus Costs
Benefits by Perspective
Taxpayer Benefits by Source of Value
Benefits Minus Costs Over Time (Cumulative Discounted Dollars)
The graph above illustrates the estimated cumulative net benefits per-participant for the first fifty years beyond the initial investment in the program. We present these cash flows in discounted dollars. If the dollars are negative (bars below $0 line), the cumulative benefits do not outweigh the cost of the program up to that point in time. The program breaks even when the dollars reach $0. At this point, the total benefits to participants, taxpayers, and others, are equal to the cost of the program. If the dollars are above $0, the benefits of the program exceed the initial investment.

Citations Used in the Meta-Analysis

Baker, S., Gersten, R., & Keating, T. (2000). When less may be more: A 2-year longitudinal evaluation of a volunteer tutoring program requiring minimal training. Reading Research Quarterly, 35(4), 494-519.

Cobb, J.B. (2000). The effects of an early intervention program with preservice teachers as tutors on the reading achievement of primary grade at risk children. Reading Horizons, 41(3), 155-173.

Cook, J.A. (2001). Every moment counts: Pairing struggling young readers with minimally trained tutors. Dissertation Abstracts International, 62(08), 2714A.

McKinney, A.D. (1995). The effects of an after-school tutorial and enrichment program on the academic achievement and self-concept of below grade level first and second grade students. Dissertation Abstracts International, 56(06), 2176A.

Ritter, G.W. (2000). The academic impact of volunteer tutoring in urban public elementary schools: Results of an experimental design evaluation. Dissertation Abstracts International, 61(03), 890A.

Zimmer, R., Hamilton, L., & Christina, R. (2010). After-school tutoring in the context of No Child Left Behind: Effectiveness of two programs in the Pittsburgh Public Schools. Economics of Education Review, 29(1), 18-28.