New Jersey Tutoring Corps - December Newsletter
Dear Friends and Tutoring Advocates,
I hope everyone is enjoying the Holiday Season and staying warm.
Last month, I was excited to update you on the detailed case study that The Annenberg Institute at Brown University had just publicly released, showcasing NJTC's work and development. Having just celebrated our third full year of service, we were grateful to have such an esteemed institution track our evolution and growth, and, to have a valuable reminder of all the hard work and investment that have gone into creating a needed tutoring focal point in New Jersey.
As we look to close out the year, we are equally excited to share the results of our annual independent, third-party evaluation with you. The full 2024-2025 report, including a detailed understanding of its methodology, can be found HERE.
When I first took on the job of developing, launching, and running NJTC, it was important to me that we work in complete transparency, so that our school partners, their parents, our Board, funders, and the many elected officials we engage with can track our progress. NJTC believes that honest, real, scientific data and perspective must consistently serve as our north star, and we are so proud that, three years later, transparency is the bedrock of NJTC.
This year, Dr. Ellen Sherratt, a nationally recognized researcher who once led the American Institutes of Research (AIR) Educator Talent Management Initiatives; co-authored the book, "Improving Teacher Quality: A Guide for Education Leaders; and an expert teaching evaluator, led the independent review for NJTC. Among the key findings:
- At the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year, less than 1% of NJTC scholars were grade-level proficient in Math. By the end of the program cycle, that percentage had grown to 15%.
- In Literacy, 5% of scholars were grade-level proficient at the start of the program cycle, growing to 20% at or above grade level at the end of the cycle.
- The most significant growth during the 2024-25 program was seen among NJTC scholars who began the program furthest behind, by at least 2 or 3 grade levels. NJTC scholars who started the school year two or more grade levels behind in Math decreased by 32 percent, and in Literacy, scholars two or more grade levels behind went down by 24 percent. In each case, scholars who were three or more grade levels behind shifted to two, two to one, and so on. This growth is so important as it moves them closer to being on grade level.
- The greatest growth was found in grade 3, in both math and literacy. This is so important because research tells us that if scholars are not reading with fluency and comprehension by the end of grade three, and/or do not have foundational math skills by then, they are unlikely to bridge academic gaps.
- In terms of NJTC’s operational performance: 91% of the 2024-25 program scholars liked participating in the math tutoring program and 94% liked participating in the literacy tutoring program, and for both classes, 96% enjoyed working with their tutor, 85% enjoyed learning more now than they did before tutoring started, and 83% think they will now participate more in class after tutoring.
In conjunction with the report, we would also like to highlight for you, NJ Spotlight News, who touches on the data we released in both a recent news story and in a lengthy television interview on tutoring in New Jersey.
As we head into the New Year, our independent impact study is of high importance to the NJTC team, as the data shared informs, directs, and defines both our priorities and how we can best serve our scholars. We are very pleased with the results and invite you to take a moment to review.
As you will see below, NJTC also remains very active in our engagement, both locally and nationally, in advocating for high-impact tutoring, and we have some great updates on recent activities to review.
Thank you for all your support and friendship.
With gratitude,
Katherine Bassett, CEO