What researchers studied

Randomized controlled trial assigning 422 ninth-grade Algebra 1 students in a large New England school district to same-gender or opposite-gender tutors within a high-impact tutoring program. 422 ninth-grade Algebra 1 students; the primary preregistered comparison examined girls randomly assigned to female versus male math tutors

What they found

  • Girls assigned to female tutors reported STEM interest 0.73 standard deviations higher than girls assigned to male tutors.
  • Girls assigned to female tutors were 3.9 percentage points more likely to earn at least a C- in math.
  • The study found no statistically significant effect on school attendance, tutoring attendance, or the tutoring provider's end-of-year assessment.
  • Effects were stronger in the in-person tutoring setting than in the virtual setting, suggesting that relationship context may matter.

What the study does not prove

  • This study tested one high-impact Algebra 1 tutoring program in one school district; results should not be generalized to every age, subject, geography, or tutoring model.
  • The largest effect was on a self-reported STEM-interest measure, and the authors note that the three-item scale had relatively low internal consistency.
  • The study does not establish that gender matching is universally beneficial or that students should only be matched with demographically similar educators.
  • No effect was detected on the tutoring provider's end-of-year assessment or attendance outcomes, so the academic evidence is narrower than a general claim that female tutors always improve math achievement.

Evidence strength: Strong experimental evidence; randomized controlled trial; peer-reviewed in American Educational Research Journal.

Why this matters for families

A tutor can be both an instructor and a role model. In this randomized Algebra 1 study, girls paired with female tutors reported substantially greater STEM interest and were modestly more likely to pass the course, though the finding should not be treated as a universal rule for matching every student.

Noor interpretation

How Noor translates the evidence into practice

The study supports a careful Noor Lyra principle: educator matching can influence more than content delivery. For some students, the educator may also shape confidence, belonging, and whether the student can imagine themselves succeeding in a subject. Matching should remain individualized rather than demographic by default.

When matching Noor Lyra Educators, consider not only subject expertise and scheduling but also the student's motivational profile, confidence, identity, and relationship fit. For girls who are disengaging from math or STEM, a strong female STEM educator may be a useful option when the family and student prefer that match.

Read the original source

Noor links to the original or authoritative source so families can distinguish the evidence itself from our interpretation.

Open original source →

DOI: 10.3102/00028312261417332

Research notes

math tutoringAlgebra 1girls in STEMtutor matchingstudent motivationrandomized trialhigh-impact tutoring

No single study determines a student's plan. Noor uses research as one input alongside the learner's goals, observed performance, academic context, and response to instruction.