The ROI of High-Impact Tutoring: A District Leader's Guide to Lasting Early Literacy Gains

By third grade, a child's reading ability begins to shape their future: those who fall behind are four times more likely to walk away from education altogether. 

Here's the thing—strategic tutoring, specifically High-Dosage or High-Impact Tutoring (HIT)—can drastically change these statistics. 

Research confirms that early childhood literacy tutoring doesn’t just boost reading scores—it can change life trajectories. One example of this research shows students who receive early literacy support are 15% more likely to graduate high school—proof that tutoring isn’t just a Band-Aid, but a ladder to long-term success.

In most school districts, every budget line item tells a story—and in education, some stories have the power to rewrite futures. For district leaders wrestling with limited resources, overextended teachers, and increasing academic challenges, early childhood literacy intervention isn't just a line item. It's a strategic move that can fundamentally reshape student outcomes.

The Hidden Economic Burden of Reading Struggles

Most district leaders understand the academic implications of literacy challenges, which is why it’s also worth looking at the economic ripple effects. The true cost of reading deficiencies extends far beyond the classroom.

On average, districts pay a steep price per student annually for literacy programs—on average, about $3,800 per student, per year (Hollands et al., 2015).  This substantial investment usually covers specialized instruction, dedicated materials, and trained support staff working to help support students in closing skill gaps. Investing in early literacy tutoring can save districts thousands per student by reducing the need for costly interventions down the road.

The implications extend far beyond individual educational journeys. The economic impact of low literacy rates can be staggering, costing the U.S. economy an estimated $2.2 trillion each year in lost productivity and reduced economic output. Employers frequently report challenges finding workers with the fundamental reading skills required for today's increasingly complex jobs.  

For school districts, the stakes are equally high. The education funding landscape has shifted dramatically with the change in federal and district funding as well as the introduction of performance-based models that directly link district resources to measurable student outcomes, including attendance and graduation rates. This creates additional pressure to ensure reading interventions are effective.

In 2024, the challenges facing districts have become even more complex. Current 4th and 5th-grade students spent their critical Kindergarten and 1st-grade years learning remotely. Now, they—and their educators—are trying to fill foundational literacy gaps while simultaneously mastering grade-level content across all subjects.

Many educators feel it’s an impossible feat. But is it?

Your Intervention Model Matters: The Science Behind High-Impact Tutoring

High-impact tutoring (HIT, also referred to as high-dose or high-dosage tutoring, HDT) isn't just another early literacy intervention—it's a precise tool for academic transformation. Unlike traditional support models that may offer inconsistent results, HIT distinguishes itself through a targeted and proven specific approach that is based in both learning science and the Science of Reading.

A Targeted Approach...

Unlike a traditional tutoring model that might occur after school and could take place at a student’s or tutor’s home, one of the hallmarks of HIT is that it happens at school, during the regular hours of the school day. This means students aren’t dealing with any of the challenges that might typically derail a traditional tutoring setup.

Additionally, whereas traditional tutors might focus on academic activities that are disconnected or isolated from what the student is learning or practicing in class, HIT is personalized to students and completely aligned with state or common core standards as well as classroom curriculum. 

For early literacy HIT sessions, students are in small groups (anywhere from 1:2 to 1:4 teacher-student ratio) and have consistent, frequent tutoring sessions throughout the week during the school day. The skills-based personalized instruction is driven by data collected at the start of the intervention and through progress monitoring throughout the duration of the tutoring.

...Using Proven Methods

Research from leading institutions like Stanford University demonstrates that high-impact tutoring goes beyond traditional remediation:

• Intensity matters: 3-4 sessions per week show exponentially better results
• Trained tutors: Instructors with specific literacy intervention training
• Consistent progress monitoring: Ongoing assessment and adaptive instruction
• Science of Reading alignment: Explicit and systematic instruction in the 5 pillars of reading instruction. 

Quantifying the Short-Term Gains: The Data Behind Success

The impact of high-impact tutoring is both measurable and remarkable. A study completed by The National Student Support Accelerator at Stanford University, which includes students who participated in HIT with OnYourMark Education, shows the impressive results after just one school year of HIT: 

• Kindergarten students: Gained 24 “extra days” of letter-sound mastery
• First grade: Gained 51 extra days of decoding skill acceleration
• Average growth: 2-3x faster progression compared to standard interventions

Want to read the research brief? Click here to open the PDF.

Studies show that, on average, high-impact tutoring has the potential to increase student learning by providing 2-10 months of additional learning for students receiving these services.

In the first year of high-impact tutoring, typically the district will see improved DIBELS®/Amplify mCLASS Intervention scores within 6–12 weeks. 

Additionally, due to the in-school, small-group model, HIT programs offer another set of dual benefits: improving both academic and engagement outcomes for the students involved. In the years following the pandemic, chronic absenteeism (defined as missing 10% or more of the school year) nearly doubled, increasing from 14.8% in the 2018-19 school year to 28.3% during the 2021-22 school year. Chronically absent students miss the opportunities they need for instruction and practice with critical foundational skills. 

Mentorship in schools has been shown to improve student outcomes. In fact, HIT reduced absenteeism rates by 22.9% among 5th-7th graders, proving that mentoring relationships can help engage even those students considered the most disconnected. 

A Teacher's Perspective

Schools are a nuanced ecosystem. When a district invests in high-impact tutoring, the return on investment (ROI) doesn’t stop at the students who are receiving the tutoring. Rather, when tutors are plugged into the school's ecosystem, the impacts extend beyond each individual student served. Not only are students able to close skill gaps more quickly, but also, teachers can now carry on with grade-level instruction. This creates a model of acceleration, rather than remediation. 

Source: Edmentum. “Acceleration vs. Remediation vs. Intervention: What’s the Difference?” Edmentum, 24 Oct. 2023, www.edmentum.com/articles/acceleration-vs-remediation-vs-intervention/.

Educators consistently report that high-impact tutoring:

• Reduces classroom intervention time
• Allows more focused grade-level instruction
• Provides targeted support without overwhelming classroom resources
• Alleviates the burnout that comes from trying to meet all student needs simultaneously

Long-Term Transformational Impact: Beyond Test Scores

Beyond immediate academic gains for students who are the furthest behind and availability for teachers to continue the work of teaching grade-level skills, high-impact tutoring creates an additional cascade of positive outcomes for a school district. Although many of these can’t be seen in the first year or two of intervention, with a long-term program investment, an entire community sees the potential for change.

Shifting Academic Trajectories

• Graduation rates: The Anne E. Casey Foundation published a significant study showing the impact on graduation rates of a few different factors. One of them is whether or not students are reading proficiently by 3rd grade. This 2012 study showed that proficient early readers are 2x more likely to complete high school.
• Reduced Special Education referrals: Studies show that when students get help with reading early on, that help makes a big difference. Research from Brookings found that children who receive literacy support at an early age are less likely to identify as needing special education services later. Early literacy intervention can reduce the need for long-term special education by up to 20%.
• Increased college enrollment: Early literacy interventions (like tutoring) have lasting effects on college enrollment.

Economic Benefits for Districts

When district leaders are looking to make a programmatic change or investment in their students, they have to think about the impact or benefit for not only a few students or one school, but rather the whole community. Investing in intensive literacy support via HIT for their youngest students will likely have financial implications that extend far beyond immediate academic improvements.

Here are a couple of examples of how an early literacy HIT intervention program could benefit an entire community:

• Funding optimization: Improved literacy rates increase district funding eligibility through performance-based metrics 
• Workforce development: Early intervention contributes to long-term community economic health
  

High-Impact Tutoring: A Strategic Solution

High-impact tutoring during the school day is a transformative solution that addresses the systemic challenges facing districts. It’s a strategic and cost-effective answer to a question that’s gone unanswered for too long: how do we help kids close gaps and achieve grade-level proficiency? 

5 Tips for Implementing High-Impact Tutoring

1. Ensure program and tutor alignment: HIT materials should be grounded in the Science of Reading (like Amplify's mCLASS) and aligned with school, state, and/or common core standards. Programs with structured curricula (like SoR-aligned tutoring) outperform ad-hoc approaches.
2. Prioritize dosage for high-touch tutoring: 3+ sessions weekly, minimum 20-week intervention
3. Continuous assessment cycle: Regular progress monitoring with DIBELS, Amplify mCLASS Intervention, or other research-backed tools to collect data and adjust instruction accordingly. This data helps to justify renewals.
4. Tutor Training: Use existing MTSS/RTI frameworks to integrate tutors.
5. Leverage multiple funding streams, including:
   • Title I Grants
   • Title III Allocations
   • State literacy initiatives (e.g., Texas HB 3 reading allotments, Washington D.C.’s Literacy Amendment Act of 2020, and Louisiana’s 2021 Accelerate Literacy policy )

Want to learn more about funding for high-impact tutoring? Click here.

The Bottom Line for Districts

The evidence is clear: early literacy intervention through high-impact tutoring is not an expense—it's an investment with compounding returns for students, teachers, district finances, and the community as a whole. Students who are getting the literacy instruction they need and deserve have longer-term academic enjoyment and success. These are the students who will become part of our communities, whether it’s in higher education or as workers. 

ROI is Widespread

When thinking about who HIT affects, the answer is that we see the ROI everywhere: 

• In students’ immediate academic growth,
• In the impact on district funding,
• In reducing the burden on teachers who may support classroom intervention, and
• In meaningful and transformative, long-term positive economic benefits for students.

Investing in HIT for your early learners is investing in your whole community’s sustainable success. 

Your Next Steps

Don't let student literacy gaps overwhelm your students and teachers. Your decision today shapes tomorrow's educational and economic landscape. High-impact tutoring isn't just about reading—it's about unlocking potential, one student at a time.

The sooner you invest, the greater the ROI.

Let us help you get started. Get in touch with our team today.