Air Tutors¶
Product or Programme · All products and programmes
Evidence · 8 claims (7 for, 1 mixed) · 3 studies (3 causal),q2–q3· 3 of 3 report an effect size · 8 claims rest on one study
Description¶
Air Tutors is a virtual high-dosage math tutoring programme run by Air Tutors that provides small-group online tutoring for upper-elementary and early-middle-school students.
Components¶
- Air Tutors virtual high-dosage math tutoring program: Air Tutors is an online high-dosage math tutoring program for upper elementary and early middle school grades, delivered via "dynamic video conferencing and interactive whiteboards" at a ratio of four students per tutor. It offers 45-minute sessions four to five times per week over 10 weeks (30 intended hours), uses the i-Ready curriculum's scope and sequence, employs tutors with at least a bachelor's degree and 3 years of experience, and structures instruction within the gradual release of responsibility framework alongside an Ubuntu professional learning community. (Fong et al. (2025))
- Air Tutors high-dosage math tutoring program: Air Tutors is a high-dosage math tutoring program evaluated in two districts (Colorado and Texas). The implementation plan "called for students to attend 45-minute sessions 4–5 times per week for at least 10 weeks, totaling approximately 30 hours of tutoring", with adequate participation defined as at least 24 hours (80 percent of full dosage). This follow-up evaluation found no measurable long-term effects on statewide math assessments 1 year after tutoring concluded. (Fong et al. (2026))
- Air Reading live virtual small-group tutoring program: Air Reading is an assessment-driven, live virtual tutoring program for foundational reading from Kindergarten through 6th grade. "Small groups of up to four students are paired with the same tutor for 30-minute sessions four times each week," with one-on-one diagnostics informing group placement and bi-weekly progress assessments. Sessions are tracked on the program's proprietary platform, and the model is described as scalable across geographies and staffing capabilities. (Air Reading (2025))
- Targeted Skills Instruction (TSI): live small-group virtual tutoring for K-12 reading and math: Targeted Skills Instruction is "a live, small-group virtual tutoring program for K-12 reading and math, delivered in 30–45-minute sessions three or more times per week." In the studied implementation, students were assigned based on fall Exact Path Insights diagnostic scores at or below the 25th percentile and served in groups of 2-6 students in three 30-40 minute sessions per week across three 6-week cycles. Sessions follow a gradual release model with tutor support. (Targeted Skills Instruction Evidence Rating Review (2025))
Claims¶
- Among students receiving at least 24 hours of Air Tutors tutoring, the program showed no significant impact on statewide summative assessments but a positive, statistically significant impact on district benchmark assessments in both districts (effect sizes 0.13 and 0.33) [+M]
- In the full-sample analysis, Air Tutors students performed worse than matched peers on the statewide summative assessment (significant overall and in District B) but showed more benchmark growth in District A and no significant benchmark difference in District B [~M]
- One year after tutoring, full-sample Air Tutors participation shows no statistically significant impact on statewide math assessment scores [+M]
- Among students receiving at least 24 hours of Air Tutors tutoring, no statistically significant long-term effect on statewide math assessments was detected [+M]
- Students receiving 40 or more Air Reading tutoring sessions showed stronger reading impacts (effect size +0.17) [+W]
- A second randomized study in Louisiana and Texas found Air Reading students scored significantly higher on combined reading assessments (effect size +0.29) [+W]
- Air Reading tutoring significantly improved NWEA MAP reading scores in a randomized study of grade 1-6 students (effect size +0.12) [+W]
- Across two randomized studies, Air Reading shows a weighted average effect size of +0.20 on reading achievement, meeting the Strong standard [+W]
Related Products and Programmes¶
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Key Sources¶
- Fong, A., Chen-Gaddini, M., & Huang, M. (2025). An evaluation of the Air Tutors Program: Findings from an Arnold Ventures grant. WestEd. https://wested.org
- Fong, A., Chen-Gaddini, M., & Huang, M. (2026). An Evaluation of the Air Tutors Program: A 1-Year Follow-Up on Math Achievement. WestEd. https://www.wested.org
- Air Reading. (2025). Air Reading program description and outcomes review. https://www.evidenceforlearning.org.au
- Targeted Skills Instruction Evidence Rating Review. (2025). https://www.edmentum.com
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
product |
id |
air-tutors |
title |
Air Tutors |
description |
Air Tutors is a virtual high-dosage math tutoring programme run by Air Tutors that provides small-group online tutoring for upper-elementary and early-middle-school students. |
status |
review |
moved_from |
element/air-reading-virtual-tutoring-program, element/edmentum-tsi-virtual-small-group-tutoring |
product_kind |
programme |
generated |
by process:settle-candidates on 2026-10-09 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
2 — air-reading-2025, targeted-skills-instruction-evidence-rating-review-2025 |
Frontmatter is the page's machine-readable record — see the Schema & Guide.