Overview
As an approved tutoring provider for Dallas Independent School District, FEV Tutor partnered with Thomas Jefferson High School, Thomas Jefferson Collegiate Academy, Pinkson Collegiate Academy, and Dr. Emmett J. Conrad Global Collegiate Academy to deliver online tutoring to help Dallas ISD students to prepare for STAAR End of Course (EOC) Assessments and the Texas Success Initiative (TSI) Assessment.
Online Tutoring for STAAR EOC Re-Testers: Thomas Jefferson High School
FEV Tutor’s work in Dallas ISD began at Thomas Jefferson High School (TJHS). The administration team at TJHS recognized that FEV’s live, 1:1 online tutoring could help serve their perennial re-testers on the STAAR End of Course (EOC) Exam. Since the STAAR EOC is a High School Graduation Gatekeeper in the state of Texas, administrators wanted to get these students over the hump and on a path to graduation.
The school identified a cohort of 77 Algebra I Re-Testers in 9th - 11th Grade to begin tutoring in Fall 2016 to prepare for the December EOC. Identified students had taken the Algebra I End of Course (EOC) exam an average of 3 times and scored Unsatisfactory on each exam prior to the tutoring intervention.
FEV Tutor created Personalized Tutoring Plans for each student enrolled in the program by analyzing the results from students’ most recent STAAR Exam and school administered benchmark assessments. Personalized Tutoring Plans established learning strands that individual students would work 1-on-1 with a professional tutor leading up to the Algebra I EOC.
Students met with their tutors primarily during school day the school day in a pull-out model, however, the flexibility of the online programming enabled TJHS to also deliver tutoring after school and on Saturdays. On average, students covered 41 Learning Objectives with their online tutors and rated their tutoring session 4.48 out of 5 and have rated their tutor 4.61 out of 5.
Results:
After one Semester of tutoring, 50% of students participating in the Test Prep program went on to pass their December Algebra I EOC re-test. Considering this student population had already taken and failed the exam an average of 3 times prior to the December re-test, TJHS administrators were very satisfied with these results.
Based on the success of the Fall Pilot, TJHS decided to expand the scope of the Online Tutoring Program in the Spring 2017 to a larger testing population, Special Education students, and students enrolled in the Thomas Jefferson Collegiate Academy.
“I like how the tutoring is personalized for each student. This is not a generic, blanket program for all students. Instead, tutors meet each student where they are academically. FEV did all the heavy lifting and I especially enjoyed the group and individual student reports provided on a weekly basis.”
– Eber Perla, Director, Pinkston Preparatory Collegiate Academy
Online Tutoring at Dallas ISD Collegiate Academies
Based on the success of the Thomas Jefferson High School tutoring program, FEV’s online tutoring services were introduced in three Dallas ISD Collegiate Academies: Thomas Jefferson High School Collegiate Academy, Pinkston High School Collegiate Academy, and Dr. Emmett J. Conrad Collegiate Academy.
The collegiate academies represent a “school within a school” to serve students that have historically been underrepresented in higher education with the opportunity to become first-generation college students. Each collegiate academy focuses on building students’ college and career readiness skills and has a partnership with a higher education institution to offer academic pathways to an Associate of Applied Science Degree.
STAAR EOCT Test Prep at Dallas ISD Collegiate Academies
In Spring 2017 both Pinkston HS Collegiate Academy and Thomas Jefferson HS Collegiate Academy partnered with FEV Tutor to deliver targeted tutoring to 9th Grade students who would be taking the STAAR EOC in Algebra for the first time. Administrators recognized the importance of passing this exam to set students on track to graduate on time.
At Pinkston HS Collegiate Academy, the school delivered tutoring to Bubble Students to get them over the hump and achieve proficiency on the STAAR Exam. Math proficiency was at 44% midway through the year according to ACP District Assessments and 6 Week Common Assessments. FEV Tutor analyzed these benchmark scores to create Personalized Tutoring Plans for each student enrolled in the tutoring program. Students then met 1-on-1 with their online tutors two days per week in an after school setting to work on Learning Objectives identified on their Personalized Tutoring Plans.
Results:
After one semester of tutoring, 31 out of 34 Participants (91%) went on to pass the Spring STAAR Algebra 1 EOC. Students had a positive experience working with their 1-on-1 tutors, on average students rated their tutoring sessions 4.77 out of 5 and rated their tutor 4.78 out of 5.
Student Feedback:
“I had a really great time with the tutors I’ve interacted with...I’ve learned a lot! It’s 1-on-1 tutoring which is more straight forward than a classroom filled with distractions.” --A. Stoker
“It’s helpful. I like how they take their time to help, so I can pass the TSI Test. I really needed help with the main ideas and I didn’t put a lot of details in at first, but now I can.” -- B. Adhikari
“It helped my reading skills because I was really weak in that subject. It has opened my vocabulary. I enjoy that the tutor is right there with you. I’ve been more interested in reading books before I didn’t really read books.” --C. Perez
TSI Test Prep at Dr. Emmett J. Conrad Global Collegiate Academy
The Texas Success Initiative (TSI) Assessment provides colleges and universities a measure to determine if students are ready for college-level coursework in Reading, Writing, and Mathematics. To help their College-bound students prepare for this important exam, Dr. Emmett J. Conrad Collegiate Academy offered their students TSI Exam Prep tutoring in Summer 2017.
In order to take the August exam, Conrad’s Director, Kirsten L. Allums, required that students attend a minimum of 10 tutoring sessions over the summer. Students created their own tutoring schedules by communicating directly with FEV’s Family & Student Engagement Team. Students were able to schedule tutoring anytime between 7:00 am and 11:00 pm seven days a week. Personalized Tutoring Plans were created for each student by analyzing the results of a TSI Diagnostic Exam.
Students are still participating in tutoring at this time and we look forward to seeing student results. On average, students have participated in 10-25 tutoring sessions over the summer months and have rated their tutoring session 4.79 out of 5 and have rated their tutors 4.8 out of 5.
Interested in Offering Virtual Tutoring at your School?
Are you wondering how you can launch a live, 1-to-1 virtual tutoring program to support your students? Speak with one of our Education Consultants to learn how:
