U.S. school districts face funding gaps for tutoring programs

U.S. school districts are facing challenges in maintaining “high-impact” tutoring programs following the expiration of federal pandemic relief funds. Between 2020 and 2021, Congress allocated nearly $190.5 billion through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) fund, marking the largest one-time federal investment in K-12 education in U.S. history.

An analysis by the National Student Support Accelerator (NSSA) of 35 districts revealed that while 19 districts preserved or expanded their tutoring programs, eight districts significantly reduced them and another eight experienced disruptions after ESSER funding ended. High-impact tutoring, which involves frequent, targeted instruction, is considered a powerful tool for addressing pandemic-related learning loss, potentially generating three to 15 months of additional learning.

However, sustaining these programs is difficult due to high costs. Research from the Annenberg Institute at Brown University estimates that high-impact tutoring costs between $1,200 and $2,500 per student annually, prompting many education leaders to seek ways to integrate these services into core academic budgets.