Union County Public Schools (UCPS) is championing a high-dosage math tutoring model that has demonstrated “positive and robust” academic gains in 4th and 7th grades, according to a presentation Feb. 10 to the North Carolina Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee.
The success of the model has led to calls for state-level funding to spread it more broadly to other public school districts.
The UCPS model centers on a whole-grade approach, where all students receive daily 30-minute math tutoring sessions during the school day. These sessions occur in a “pull out” format with a strict three-to-one student-to-tutor ratio.
Union County school personnel developed their own curriculum for the tutoring and recruited tutors at pay of $25 per hour, significantly higher than other tutoring rates in the state. The tutors are non-certified personnel who must pass a math assessment and receive monthly training.
The model mandates dedicated tutoring spaces, consistent use of curriculum binders, and the appointment of a school-based champion to support the initiative. Crucially, the tutoring sessions are built into the core instructional block, ensuring they don’t detract from other critical learning times.
The tutoring program, which began in 2017 and expanded significantly post-pandemic, recently underwent an evaluation by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s School of Education.
Pre-pandemic, 4th grade students experienced a 10% proficiency gain as a result of the tutoring program, while 7th graders saw an even larger 26% proficiency gain. Post-pandemic, the gains were 10% for 4th grade and 11% for 7th grade.
“What we learned was that over time, no matter if you’re identified as an exceptional child, if you’re academically gifted, if you are a multilingual learner, all of them are benefiting from this approach,” said UCPS superintendent Andrew Houlihan.
The tutoring approach “has become a part of the ingrained culture of the building that has been really a blessing for us from a culture standpoint,” Houlihan added.
The UNC-Chapel Hill analysis also found the tutoring program to be cost effective, with annual costs ranging from $750 to $2,500 per pupil. That cost effectiveness ratios “are in line with or superior to many highly regarded educational interventions, including lengthening the school day, increasing teacher salaries, and class size reduction,” according to the review.
Union County has already trained over 50 school systems nationwide on its approach. Houlihan proposed a “lead district” partnership model, where UCPS would collaborate with other interested districts, facilitated by recurring state funds, either through competitive grants or a dedicated program code managed by the NC Department of Public Instruction.
“If it’s tweaked at all, [the model] would not have the same level of success,” Houlihan said. “The curriculum, the ratios, and the time during the day are probably the top three non-negotiables.”
The estimated annual cost for UCPS to run its current program across all participating schools is approximately $2.75 million. For a statewide partnership, UCPS envisions that “the majority would need to go to those districts to hire the tutors,” with UCPS requiring minimal funding to support training and partnership management.
“The UCPS initiative shows us that highly focused instruction grounded in an effective curriculum is a time-tested recipe for improving student outcomes,” said Bryce Fiedler, director of the Carolinas Academic Leadership Network at the John Locke Foundation. “We applaud the district for its leadership and for pioneering a model for others to consider.”