Reading tutoring is supplemental reading practice that occurs outside of the school reading curriculum. It usually has some type of consistent structure and can take place at a school, a tutoring center, or at home. The tutor can be a professional, paraprofessional, volunteer, or family member. Reading tutoring can be used for all ages, and is dependent on reading ability and/or level.
In response to the high rate of students reading below their grade level in the United States, the America Reads Challenge Act of 1997 was proposed. Its main goal was to get children to appropriate reading levels by the time they left third grade (“America Reads Challenge Act,” 1997).3[6] The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 had the goal of getting all students to a proficient level in both reading and math by closing the achievement gap.[7] It has now been replaced with the Every Student Succeeds Act at the end of 2015.[8][9]
Much of the research that can be found on tutoring programs is implemented in kindergarten, or first grade, through the third grade. Generally, empirical research finds that students who are tutored perform better on reading assessments at the end of the year relative to their untutored peers.[10][11] Reading tutoring is usually geared toward students that are considered at-risk or below their grade level in reading achievement. To obtain the desirable higher achievement outcomes for students, tutors—volunteer, family members, and paraprofessionals—must be trained properly on reading correction procedures.[12][13][14][15]
There are conflicting results in research on this subject. One study found that parents using either children's books or school materials had no significant impact on the child's reading achievement level (Powell-Smith et al., 2000).[19] Other studies have found that when parents are trained in proper tutoring procedures they can positively impact their child's reading achievement level [20][21][22][23]