Is Online Math Tutoring Worth It? Here's What the Research Says
Parents ask this question a lot, usually after a mid-term report card lands with a grade that wasn't expected. Is online math tutoring actually effective, or is it just a more convenient version of something that may or may not work? The short answer is that the research is fairly detailed - and it's more positive than many people assume. The longer answer requires looking at what makes tutoring work in the first place, and why the online format holds up better than its critics suggest. What the Research Actually Shows Studies on one-on-one tutoring have consistently found it to be one of the most effective educational interventions available. Benjamin Bloom's mastery learning research is the most referenced starting point in this conversation - his findings showed that students taught individually consistently outperformed those sitting in a standard classroom. That pattern hasn't changed. Newer studies looking specifically at virtual math tutoring show the same thin...