May 18, 2008

Fourth Annual National Tutoring Survey Sheds Light on Training and Assessment

by Bob Lasiewicz, Managing Director, Crossroads of Learning

The first round of the Fourth Annual National Tutoring survey was conducted in March, 2008 by Crossroads of Learning. The focus of this year’s survey was to gather data on tutor assessment and training practices in the professional tutoring community. Following are some of the highlights.

The source of the email invitations were:
20% NTA membership
55% Trio-Gear Up Programs
10% Commercial tutoring centers across the U.S.
15% Crossroads of Learning proprietary list


The responses came from 44 U.S. states and four other countries. 207 surveys were started, with 161 completed.
62% of the respondents were on staff, volunteered or otherwise worked for an academic learning center
14% were from a commercial learning center
15% were in private practice
9% other

The percentage of tutors who have been assessed showed a wide variation:
25% of private practitioners
94% of those at academic learning centers
96% of those at commercial learning centers

The most common method of assessment was
83% of private practioner by written tests
67% of academic learning centers by interview
86% of commercial learning centers by interview

The second most preferred method of assessment was client feedback:
67% of private practitioners by interviews
62% academic learning centers by client feedback
50% for commercial learning centers by client feedback

Training showed a variety of interesting variations. Those who have never received training:
46% of private practitioners
7% at academic learning centers
22% at commercial learning centers

The above could reflect the fact that with a higher number of peer tutors, academic learning centers are more focused on training and development. And perhaps reflecting turnover (which we intend to study in a future survey), the annual number of hours of training was:
7 at academic learning centers
5.3 at commercial learning centers.

Structured training was the most common training approach:
62% for private practitioners
67% for commercial learning centers
85% for academic learning centers

The second most common training approach was peer support and information exchange:
31% for private practitioners
77% at academic learning centers
56% at commercial learning centers

The free NTA Community can be a great resource for peer support and information exchange. We encourage you to enroll at www.crossroadsoflearning.com/clc.htm.

When private practitioners were asked about the results of training they replied as follows:
76% – Quality of tutoring improved significantly
69% – Improved opportunities for finding clients
23% – Received increased compensation

For those receiving training at learning centers, compensation is influenced for:
26% at academic learning centers
44% at commercial learning centers

If you were not able to participate in the first round of the survey, responses are still being collected. We invite you to visit www.crossroadsoflearning.com/journal and click on the “National Tutoring Survey” link under the picture at the top of the left hand column. If you would like to receive a copy of the preliminary or detailed reports, including tables and deeper analysis, please visit www.crossroadsoflearning.com and send a request from the "Contact Us" page.

Note: Crossroads of Learning is a lifelong learning portal for tutors. In addition to training programs and tutor skills tests please feel free to use the following links to explore many free resources including the growing learning community; become an affiliate; read the professional Journal; visit the resource Library; or view a Tutoring Town Hall webcast. Please visit Crossroadsoflearning.com for more information or send a message here.
 

 

 

 

Filed under: Academic Learning Centers,Assessment,Commercial,Research,Training/Education

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