Breakthrough Collaborative school-year math tutoring pilot for eighth graders¶

Element · All elements
Evidence · 6 claims (5 for, 1 mixed) · 3 studies (1 causal, 1 associational, 1 design), q2 · 0 of 3 report an effect size · 6 claims rest on one study

Description¶

Breakthrough Collaborative "designed a math-focused, school-year version of its summer program to pilot with eighth graders during the 2021-2022 school year." Two affiliates, Breakthrough Central Texas and Breakthrough Greater Boston, piloted the program. Math knowledge was measured with the i-Ready Math assessment at Central Texas and the Renaissance Star Math assessment at Greater Boston, alongside student surveys on tutor relationships, belonging, and math confidence.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Administered during the school year as a math-focused adaptation of the existing summer program
• Math knowledge measured via i-Ready Math (Central Texas) and Renaissance Star Math (Greater Boston) assessments
• Student surveys administered throughout the school year

Constraints¶

• Piloted with eighth graders only
• Implemented at two affiliates (Central Texas and Greater Boston)
• Evaluated during the 2021-2022 school year

Target Learners¶

• Eighth-grade students at Breakthrough Collaborative affiliates

Target Learning Goals¶

• Middle school mathematics knowledge and skills
• Math confidence and perceptions of tutoring relationships

Claims¶

• Math confidence increased slightly among students completing both baseline and end-of-year surveys, but the difference was not statistically significant [+W]
• Students completing the end-of-year survey reported favorable views of their relationships with math tutors and their sense of belonging in tutoring sessions [+W]
• Eighth graders in the Breakthrough Collaborative math tutoring pilot showed math score growth from beginning to end of year at both affiliates, similar to a national pre-pandemic sample [+W]
• Exploratory analyses: students ending the year in larger tutoring groups showed the largest math score increases but reported weaker tutor relationships than peers in smaller groups [~W]
• Math tutoring programs may improve students' math confidence and sense of belonging [+W]
• Multiple math tutoring approaches, including group and virtual tutoring, can boost students' math knowledge in grades 4–10 [+W]

Related Elements¶

• Zearn Math adaptive digital lessons with CPA progression and mastery-based quizzes
• Galaxy Math one-to-one tutoring program for at-risk first graders

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Breyon Williams, Connor Rooney, Gregory Chojnacki. (2023). Breakthrough Collaborative's Tutoring Program: Math Knowledge Gains and Participant Math Perceptions. Mathematica. https://www.mathematica.org/publications/math-knowledge-gains-and-math-perceptions-among-participants-of-the-breakthrough-collaborative