Over the past six months, a remarkable coalition has taken shape in Connecticut.
Community organizers, nonprofit leaders, educators, and parents have come together in support of one powerful belief: the solution exists to closing Connecticut’s academic achievement gap, one of the largest in the nation.
That solution is high-dosage tutoring —a proven, research-backed approach that delivers real, measurable results and has the potential to reach all students. The intervention should be celebrated. But instead, it has been put in jeopardy of being completely discarded.
The most recent Appropriations Budget voted on recently eliminated funding for high dosage tutoring. With the legislative season winding down, the clock is ticking for government leaders to make a critical decision: do right by Connecticut’s kids, reverse this decision, and reincorporate funds for high dosage tutoring, or make families suffer through another school year of learning loss and classroom struggles.
The most recent 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores, also known as the “Nation’s Report Card,” revealed that, compared with national averages, Connecticut’s fourth-grade students outperformed their peers in reading and scored on par in mathematics. Connecticut’s eighth-grade students outperformed the nation in both subjects. At first glance, the findings are commendable, even inspiring. Dig a little deeper, though, and you’ll find that instead of getting A’s and B’s on this “report card,” many Connecticut students are sending out an SOS.
Connecticut may be outperforming other states, but unfortunately our nation’s academic health doesn’t set a high bar. The 2024 NAPE results show that in both reading and math, most fourth- and eighth- graders still performed below 2019 pre-pandemic levels. In Connecticut, the percentage of students who performed at or above the NAEP Proficient level was just 36% in 2024. This percentage was not significantly different from that in 2022 (35%) and was smaller than that in 1998 (43%). Lastly, Black and Hispanic students and students from low-income backgrounds make-up less than 25% of Connecticut’s on-track students. Too many of Connecticut’s students are still getting left behind, but it doesn’t have to be this way.
High-dosage tutoring is a proven solution to one of our most pressing challenges: how to ensure that every child – regardless of background, zip code or circumstances —can build the skills they need to succeed in school and beyond. A series of research released in the last decade reveals that high-dosage tutoring can accelerate learning by up to ten months in a single year, is one of the most effective ways to increase achievement for students from lower-income families, and can even be as successful done virtually as it has been in-person
Across Connecticut, schools have piloted high dosage tutoring programs grounded in best practices and research —frequent sessions, consistent tutors, and small groups create an undeniable impact. Students who were falling behind are now catching up. Children who needed a challenge are now thriving. Confidence is rising. Scores are moving in the right direction. Teachers are seeing the difference. So are families.
Students in Teach For America’s Ignite tutoring program are reporting academic growth, a stronger sense of belonging, and greater attendance. And tutoring isn’t just a win for students, it’s a win for the state. As Connecticut continues to struggle with a teacher shortage, tutoring initiatives have helped strengthen the tutor-to-teacher talent pipeline, giving those interested in education an avenue to further pursue their passion and consider a full-time career in the classroom. An investment in high dosage tutoring is an investment in the future, creating jobs, supporting young professionals, and building a pipeline of future educators in a time of critical shortage.
Support for high-dosage tutoring extends far beyond the classroom. Behind this progress is growing interest and momentum across many sectors. The coalition described above has brought together data and lived experience—advocating with lawmakers, communicating across public, digital forums, and testifying at the Capitol. This growing collective voice, in partnership with concerned lawmakers and members of the Education committee, has led to a real step forward: a dedicated line in the state budget for high-dosage tutoring. Now, we must raise our voices, call our legislators, and share our stories. We must insist that Connecticut reinvest in this intervention and stop this progress from being erased.
Without funding, our children’ s progress risks stalling out. Without investment, we lose momentum and the opportunity to close persistent gaps to ensure all Connecticut students have a real chance to thrive. The evidence is clear: high-dosage tutoring is as close to a magic wand as we have right now, able to erase years of academic decline. Now it’s up to legislators to back it with budget and give communities the funds they need so that the wand can be waved.
Let’s fill the line. Let’s fund what works. Let’s give every child in Connecticut the chance to reach their full potential.
Catherine Pamelard is the Executive Director of Boundless Literacy, a nonprofit organization providing high-dosage literacy tutoring using an Orton Gillingham approach in New Haven Public Schools. Dolores Garcia-Blocker is the Executive Director of Teach For America Connecticut and a long-time Connecticut educator.
发表回复