Closing the Gap:
How High-Dosage Tutoring Is Advancing Equitable Learning in Indianapolis Public Schools
Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) ran the country’s largest, most successful, and most innovative high dosage tutoring program in the wake of the COVID pandemic.
On the state ILEARN assessment, students received the equivalent to an additional 4 months of learning.
Students who tutored for 20 or more hours grew up to 10 points in Math on NWEA’s MAP.
"We want to be a district where outcomes cannot be predicted by race or class."
- Dr. Aleesia Johnson, Superintendent, Indianapolis Public Schoolsstudents tutored
hours of tutoring
"Harvard did a multi-year study on the impact of the pandemic on educational outcomes and they highlighted Indianapolis Public Schools as a bright spot."
- Andrew Strope, Deputy Superintendent, Indianapolis Public SchoolsSpring ’22
Pilot
The pilot program launched across 13 schools, providing in-school and after-school high-dosage tutoring to 900 students. In just one semester, students achieved significant growth.
Because of the success of the pilot program, IPS was recognized in Chalkbeat and the Education Recovery Scorecard.
Summer ’22
A Plan to Expand
Building on the success of the spring pilot, IPS expanded for the 2022-2023 school year.
- Supporting an additional 700 students at the district’s highest-need turnaround schools.
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Launching a district-wide, at-home, opt-in program called Tutoring For All to support 2,000 more students.
To build buy-in, momentum and excitement, TbT hosted several events for principals and school leaders, and launched community outreach campaigns with billboards and ads, encouraging families to sign up for Tutoring For All.
Read more about the expansion from FOX59 in Indianapolis
SY 2022-2023
Expanding Access to District-Wide Equitable Learning
That fall in-school high-dosage tutoring and Tutoring for All supported over 3,200 students in IPS.
In its first full year of implementation, students saw even more growth on both ILEARN and NWEA.
IPS was highlighted as an example of how to successfully implement a high-dosage tutoring program.
SY 2023-2024
Getting Even More Students to Grow
Following another year of successful implementation and growth, the district planned to reach even more students.
- Provide in-school high-dosage support to 4,400 students across 24 schools.
- Expand enrollment in Tutoring For All to reach 2,700 students.
After expanding to reach more than 9,500 students, students witnessed remarkable growth on the 2024 ILEARN State Assessment.
point growth in ELA on 2024 ILEARN Assessment (Turnaround Schools)
point growth in Math on 2024 ILEARN Assessment (Turnaround Schools)
At the July 2024 board meeting, parents, school staff, and district leaders celebrated the impact and success of tutoring in IPS.
point growth on MAP test from Fall '23 to Spring '24 in ELA
point growth on MAP test from Fall '23 to Spring '24 in Math
“On average, 9,500 students spent ten hours tutoring and saw gains in ELA and Math. That’s interesting data and it’s pretty clear there’s an incredible value.”
Will Pritchard
Indianapolis Public School Board Member, District 1
Parents Love Tutoring For All
Tutoring for All earned an impressive Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 72—a measure of how likely someone is to recommend a product or service.
For context, household names like Amazon, Netflix, and Starbucks have NPS scores of 62, 68, and 77, respectively. This underscores the strong parent satisfaction with Tutoring For All.
At the July 2024 board meeting, parents, school staff, and district leaders celebrated the impact and success of tutoring in IPS.
“On average, 9,500 students spent ten hours tutoring and saw gains in ELA and Math. That’s interesting data and it’s pretty clear there’s an incredible value.”
Will Pritchard
Indianapolis Public School Board Member, District 1
point growth on MAP test from Fall '23 to Spring '24 in ELA
point growth on MAP test from Fall '23 to Spring '24 in Math
Parents Love Tutoring For All
For context, household names like Amazon, Netflix, and Starbucks have NPS scores of 62, 68, and 77, respectively. This underscores the strong parent satisfaction with Tutoring For All.
After years of successfully leveraging high-dosage tutoring to close learning gaps, IPS is prepared to tackle its next challenge.
Indiana is one of 30 states to pass legislation addressing 3rd-grade early literacy.
In 2024, the state took a bold step forward by passing SEA 1, a landmark law requiring individualized tutoring for elementary students struggling with reading
In response, IPS is turning to its proven high-dosage tutoring model to address third-grade reading gaps and drive significant gains in literacy, setting students on a path toward future success.
After years of successfully leveraging high-dosage tutoring to close learning gaps, IPS is prepared to tackle its next challenge.
Indiana is one of 30 states to pass legislation addressing 3rd-grade early literacy.
In 2024, the state took a bold step forward by passing SEA 1, a landmark law requiring individualized tutoring for elementary students struggling with reading
In response, IPS is turning to its proven high-dosage tutoring model to address third-grade reading gaps and drive significant gains in literacy, setting students on a path toward future success.
We’re incredibly grateful to have played a role in implementing equitable high-dosage tutoring that’s making a real difference in students’ lives.
A huge thank you to the leadership at IPS—we’re excited to continue our partnership and support student growth across Indianapolis.
We’re incredibly grateful to have played a role in implementing equitable high-dosage tutoring that’s making a real difference in students’ lives.
A huge thank you to the leadership at IPS—we’re excited to continue our partnership and support student growth across Indianapolis.