With so many tutoring choices, how can a parent know which approach is best for their child?

If you’re considering in-home, online, center, peer, or any other type of tutoring, results-based research can help ease your confusion. In The Tutoring Revolution: Applying Research for Best Practices, Policy Implications, and Student Achievement researchers Edward E. Gordon, Ronald R. Morgan, Charles J. O’Malley, and Judith Ponticell review over 4,000 studies on tutoring spanning 30 years.

After comparing the results of tutoring in different settings, the team found that tutoring conducted in the student’s home yielded the best results over time. According to the authors, “Tutoring at the student’s home often maximizes long-term student achievement. Home-based tutoring allows remediation of student skills and helps parents improve the learning environment in the home.”

Another best practice closely tied to private tutoring was that students must “spend an adequate amount of time on task. Time is needed to assess which skills are missing, to change study habits, and to improve motivation.”