Impact
Last summer the New Jersey Tutoring Corps conducted a double-blind study with Boys and Girls Clubs using Fun Factor materials in small-group tutoring. Four pairs of “sister sites” with similar demographics participated. All the sites tutored scholars in grades K-5 in math, but in each pair of sites, one randomly selected club used Fun Factor materials to augment the tutoring curriculum, while its partner site did not (more details below).
After six weeks, the number of scholars in the four Fun Factor treatment sites who were at either grade level or early on grade level skills nearly doubled, from 27% to 48%. Meanwhile, the control group moved from 22% of students to just 29%.
Study details:
- Locations: “Sister sites” are Boys and Girls Club sites that are in close geographic proximity to one another and that serve a demographically similar population of scholars.
- Matching: The participating pairs of sites were located in the following regions of the state: northeastern/urban; northeastern/urban; southern rural; and mid-state/suburban.
- Sample size: The four control sites tutored and assessed a total of 81 scholars. The treatment (Fun Factor) sites tutored and assessed 118 scholars.
- Content: Tutors for both the control and treatment groups used iReady as the primary curriculum. Tutors in the treatment groups supplemented at least once a week with Fun Factor materials. The Fun Factor experiences augmented iReady work, i.e. the two sets of scholars had equal tutoring time.
- Dosage: Tutoring lasted for six weeks at all participating sites. Tutor-to-scholar ratio varied from 1:1 to 1:4 for two 1-hour sessions per week.
