New Study Indicates that On Demand, Targeted Tutoring Helps Students Master Math Concepts
Students and Parents agree that using Tutor.com increased students' confidence and helped improve grades
New York, NY (November 12, 2007) – Tutor.com, the leader in on demand homework help and tutoring services, announced today results from a third-party research study that shows students who used Tutor.com to connect to a professional tutor online for one-to-one help in algebra I, algebra II and geometry performed better on the same topics during post-tests. Students in 7th-11th grades were given access to Tutor.com, encouraged to use the service to get help on whatever topics they felt they needed, and tracked over several months. Students who used Tutor.com showed improvement in the topics for which they sought help. The most significant improvements were 12% higher scores post-tests for geometry concepts. The study also found that parents attribute an increase in their child's confidence and an improvement in their grades to using Tutor.com.
"This is a first-ever test of the ability of targeted tutoring, after-school, to improve student performance on the particular curriculum objectives of that tutoring," explained Dale Mann Ph.D., managing director of Interactive Inc. which conducted the study. "We found that an increase in student performance in the tutored subjects was related to using Tutor.com. Our research also showed that students and parents want a service like this because of the convenience of on demand access to tutors, getting homework completed faster, and improved grades and self-confidence."
The research included surveying both students and parents regarding their attitudes toward on demand tutoring. The students strongly agreed that their tutors were high quality, and both parents and students reported that:
"This is an extremely exciting and promising first look at how effective online, on demand tutoring can be for students who are getting stuck on math concepts," said George Cigale, founder and CEO of Tutor.com. "We have hundreds of thousands of student and parent comments and emails to us that anecdotally supported the idea that targeted, on demand tutoring the moment a child needs it was making a real impact on a student's learning. We look forward to continuing to study the effectiveness of our services for the millions of families who need this help for their children."
Methodology
This was an exploratory analysis of the experiences of 50 students with an on demand tutoring system. Participants were "C" students or better in school who had Internet access at home. Their families received free access to Tutor.com Direct for 6 months. The participants took comprehensive (whole-year curriculum) tests constructed with BenchmarkTracker.com before and after they used the service. Tutor.com Direct records transcripts of all interaction between the tutors and the learners, and transcripts of these students were used to determine which individual topics students asked about and looked for changes in performance before and after tutoring on those particular items. Parents and students also completed web surveys about their experience with Tutor.com Direct.
About Tutor.com
Tutor.com creates innovative, on demand homework help and tutoring services that connect students to a professional tutor online the moment they need help in math, science, social studies or English. Our network of over 2,000 professional tutors has delivered over 2.5 million one-to-one tutoring sessions. Tutor.com services include Tutor.com Direct, an on demand tutoring service for families and Live Homework Help, an after-school program offered at over 1,600 public libraries. Tutor.com also powers two statewide, governor-supported initiatives, HomeworkKansas and HomeworkAlabama. Tutor.com was named to Deloitte's Technology Fast 50 Program for the New York Region in 2007 and 2006, was honored as one of the 25 Best Small Companies for Women 2007 by Working Mother and ranked in the first-ever Inc. 5,000 list of the fastest growing private companies in America. For more information or a free trial of the service please visit Tutor.com or call (800) 411-1970.
About Interactive Inc.
Interactive, Inc. specializes in the measurement of results from e-learning. The company is listed on the US Department of Education's Registry of Outcomes Evaluators as a 'gold standard' research firm.