October 24, 2014

Stunningly, DPS tutoring program shows individual attention can improve student achievement

North Denver News

In a school district obsessed with organizational box reform— charter schools, enrollment games, firing teachers, pay-for-performance schemes— proof again emerges to demonstrate conventional wisdom. Small classes and individual tutoring can help kids catch up in the classroom.

Denver Public Schools students enrolled in Denver Math Fellows tutoring during the school day are showing significant improvements in proficiency scores, according to recently released state assessment data. This targeted instructional time is provided daily to 4th, 6th and 8th grade students who are below grade level in math—in addition to their daily math classes.

The Denver Math Fellows program began as a pilot program in seven schools in 2011 as part of Denver’s Far Northeast turnaround initiative, and thanks to Denver voter’s approval of the 2012 Mill Levy initiative, it was expanded to 44 additional schools.  In its first year of widespread implementation, the program accelerated student academic growth at all grade levels, as measured by the Median Growth Percentile (MGP) measure, with students in 8th grade outpacing their peers in growth by 16 percentile points. Thirty percent of schools participating in the program had tutored students’ MGP’s exceed 65 in math (an MGP of 50 represents one year of growth).

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Filed under: Academic Learning Centers,K-8

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