The Promise

1
The Promise Challenge of SES The Providers
Perspective
February 16, 2006 Jennifer Harmon Kerstin Le
Floch jharmon_at_air.org klefloch_at_air.org
American Institutes for Research
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About this Survey

• EIA developed and conducted survey (Summer 2005)
• AIR analyzed and reported results
• (Fall 2005)
• 216 providers completed survey
• 50 for profit
• 39 non-for-profit
• 6 public school entity (non-charter)
• 4 faith-based
• 1 charter school

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Key Findings

• Providers are experienced tutoring organizations
• Most offered services before NCLB
• Most for profit and many non-profit providers had
  operated for at least 5 years
• Number of approved non-profit providers increased
  at higher rate than for profit providers
• Most offered services in just one state

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Key Findings

• Many tutors are certified teachers and most hold
  at least a college degree

5
Key Findings

• Many providers offer low student-instructor
  ratios
• 43 offer a ratio of less than 101
• About 25 of for-profit and non-profit providers
  offer 11
• Providers new to marketplace plan to offer less
  than 101
• No school district provider offers 11

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Key Findings

• Total instructional hours per student varies

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Key Findings

• Access to school buildings is a major concern
• Over ½ of providers serve students at the school
  site
• District providers felt access to school sites
  was reasonable
• Most for-profit and ½ non-profit providers
  disagreed
• Concerns included
• Providers on school site have advantages over
  others
• Fees to use school sites raise overhead and
  reduce tutoring hours
• Parents may be unable to provide transportation
  to off-site locations

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Key Findings

• Incentives do not seem to impact attendance
• No systematic relationship between incentives and
  either high or low attendance rates
• However, attendance remains a challenge

9
Key Findings

• Providers report challenges associated with
  district administration
• Provider concerns include
• Overall support
• Parent notification
• School building access
• Contractual issues
• Billing and finances

10
Key Findings

• Providers report positive interactions with
  States
• Provider applications were clear, fair and
  reasonable
• Clear policies for examining claims of providers
  scientific research base
• Implementation uneven
• LEAs make it extremely challenging. SEAs have
  been very helpful in resolving challenges.

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Policy Implications

• Improving district-provider relations should be a
  priority
• Supporting communication with parents
• Resolving issues regarding school building access
• Any amount of extra guidance and assistance to
  the children/families that need it the most, is a
  great benefit Communicating with these families
  is key. Getting them to attend Parent/Provider
  Fairs is paramount. No matter what, all of our
  children deserve a chance at success.

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Contact Us
Jennifer Harmon Kerstin Le Floch E
jharmon_at_air.org E klefloch_at_air.org T (202)
403-5000 American Institutes for Research