Can Technology Facilitate Scale? Evidence from a Randomized Evaluation of High Dosage Tutoring
High-dosage tutoring is an effective way to improve student learning (Nickow et al., 2024; Guryan et al., 2023). Finding ways to deliver high-dosage tutoring at large scale remains a challenge. Two primary challenges to scaling are cost and staffing. One possible solution is to reduce costs by substituting some tutor time with computer-assisted learning (CAL) technology. The question is: Does doing so compromise effectiveness? This paper provides evidence from a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of approximately 4,000 students in two large school districts in 2018- 19 and 2019-20. The RCT tested the effectiveness of an in-school math tutoring program where students worked in groups of four, with two students working with an in-person tutor while the other two worked on CAL, alternating every other day. The tutoring model had per-pupil costs approximately 30 percent lower than the 2- to-1 tutoring model studied in Guryan et al. (2023). We find gains in students’ math standardized test scores of 0.23 standard deviations for participating students, which are almost as large as the effect sizes of the 2-to-1 tutoring model reported in Guryan et al. (2023). These findings suggest strategic use of technology may be a way to increase the scalability of HDT.
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