Implementation Variation in Tutoring Programs Across Tennessee: Trends from the 2024 Tennessee Educator Survey

About the Brief

Tutoring has become a central strategy for learning recovery in Tennessee following the COVID-19 pandemic, with research supporting the effectiveness of high-dosage, low-ratio models. Beginning in the 2020–21 school year, the state launched the TN ALL Corps grant, supporting 87 districts and over 200,000 students with structured tutoring in grades 1–5 and optional services in grades 6–8. While the state provided funding and general guidance, local leaders made many implementation decisions, and even non-participating districts offered alternative tutoring programs. In addition to pandemic recovery, tutoring is now a mandated intervention for third graders scoring below grade level. To better understand tutoring efforts, TERA analyzed data from the 2024 Tennessee Educator Survey, focusing on elementary and middle schools. The brief explores who served as tutors, which students received services, and educators’ perceptions of the programs’ successes and challenges.

Key Findings

1. School administrators reported that they most often used teacher referrals and results from tests and screeners to identify students for tutoring programs.
2. School administrators serving high percentages of economically disadvantaged (ED) students reported enrolling a higher percentage of students in tutoring and were more likely to report offering tutoring during the school day, as compared to administrators serving lower percentages of ED students.
3. More teachers in elementary schools and in TN ALL Corps grant districts reported serving as a tutor than teachers in middle schools and those in non-TN ALL Corps grant districts.
4. Administrators from urban districts reported leveraging more external partners and volunteers as tutors as well as offering more virtual tutoring than those in other types of locales.
5. Elementary school administrators reported tutor shortages and scheduling to be their largest barriers to implementing the tutoring programs, while middle school principals reported transportation and student attendance as the largest barriers.

Suggested Citation

Kaitlyn Dodgen. (2025). Implementation Variation in Tutoring Programs Across Tennessee: Trends from the 2024 Tennessee Educator Survey. Tennessee Education Research Alliance.