Early literacy is a key developmental milestone for succeeding in school, yet far too many children in America, particularly the most socially vulnerable, are not meeting this key milestone. For example, NAEP data from 2013 shows that over 80% of Black and Latinx students are below proficient in reading by the end of fourth grade, as compared to…

High-dosage tutoring-defined as consistently scheduled tutorials during the school day in which students work with a trained tutor in small groups (for example, four students to one tutor) at least three times per week--is among the most promising educational interventions for improving student learning. Despite their appeal, high-dosage tutoring…

The field of education is progressively building capacity and tools for producing rigorous research evidence to use in improving educational practice and outcomes. The knowledge base is lacking, however, in explicating the dynamics of research-based decision making and exploring connections between the work of research-practice partnerships and…

This report details a case study of the Tutor-Mentor Connection (T/MC), an organization designed to build infrastructures to expand and improve after-school tutoring and mentoring opportunities for inner-city children in Chicago. The case study was conducted over a 3-month period in 1997 and was intended as a limited exploration of one model for…

Describes the mentorship programs of the Midtown Education Foundation (MEF), Chicago (Illinois), an initiative that began as an outreach of the Catholic Opus Dei movement. The MEF emphasis on biblically based character development, taught by role models, and embedded in an academic curriculum, is very popular. Early evaluation indicates that best…