Connecticut officials highlight $11.2 million investment and early gains from high-dosage tutoring

Connecticut education officials and outside researchers described the state's rollout of high-dosage tutoring and early evidence of benefit at a public forum hosted by the Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now on Oct. 27, 2025.

The state Department of Education allocated $11,200,000 from the ARP ESSER (American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) State Set-Aside to a competitive grant program that funded high-dosage tutoring in 43 districts, 14 of which are alliance districts, officials said. The program emphasized in-person instruction, targeted grades 6 through 9 mathematics, required small student-to-tutor ratios and set session expectations at about three times per week for roughly 30 minutes.

Why it matters: Supporters said high-dosage tutoring produces measurable learning gains, improves student attendance and builds confidence, and that sustained, predictable funding would preserve staffing, community partnerships and program fidelity.

At the forum, Carly Robinson, director of research at the SCALE initiative at Stanford University, summarized the evidence base for what the research community calls "high-impact, high-dosage tutoring," saying it involves "one-on-one or small-group instruction from a consistent, well-trained tutor" who uses high-quality curriculum and data to guide instruction. "These regular meetings are happening…