What researchers studied

Two-year randomized trial offering low-cost one-to-one virtual tutoring alongside school-based Khan Academy practice. Struggling Grade 4–8 students identified by teachers in the Toronto District School Board

What they found

  • Only 45% of assigned students reached a first tutoring session in Year 1; after the invitation was reframed and enrollment simplified, initial take-up rose to 83% in Year 2.
  • Weekly attendance remained below half because participation was intermittent rather than because students permanently dropped out.
  • The offer increased Khan Academy practice by about 10 minutes per week.
  • The estimated math assessment gain was 0.055 SD with a 95% confidence interval from -0.09 to 0.20, so the estimate was too imprecise to rule out no effect or a moderate positive effect.
  • Math report-card marks improved by about 0.08 SD with marginal statistical significance, and math satisfaction and enjoyment improved.

What the study does not prove

  • This is an NBER working paper and should not be described as a peer-reviewed journal publication.
  • The main achievement estimate is statistically imprecise and should not be presented as proof that this tutoring model improved test scores.
  • Participation was incomplete and intermittent, which limits what can be inferred about the effect of actually receiving regular tutoring.
  • The program combined virtual tutoring with Khan Academy practice in one Canadian school district, so results should not be generalized to all tutoring settings.

Evidence strength: Strong experimental design with an imprecise primary achievement estimate; NBER working paper.

Why this matters for families

The study does not show that one hour of virtual tutoring guarantees a learning gain. It shows why participation and continuity have to be part of any serious progress conversation.

Noor interpretation

How Noor translates the evidence into practice

Access on paper is not the same as instruction received. Enrollment friction, attendance, continuity, and delivered dosage are part of the intervention and should be measured rather than treated as administrative details.

Track offered, scheduled, and completed sessions separately; follow up quickly after attendance breaks; reduce avoidable onboarding friction; and evaluate learning using the instruction the student actually received rather than the package they were offered.

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: 10.3386/w35622

Research notes

virtual tutoringattendancetutoring dosageNBERKhan Academyimplementation

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.