High-Impact Tutoring in Literacy Clinics: Evidence of Reading Gains in K-8 Students

As high-quality literacy tutoring grows as a national priority, the need to identify effective tutoring practices is pressing. Literacy clinics provide rich opportunities to study tutoring practices, but empirical evidence is needed to demonstrate their effectiveness in supporting student reading gains. This study examined the reading gains of 338 K-8th grade students who received literacy tutoring through university-based literacy clinics. Gains were measured in reading accuracy, words correct per minute, and comprehension. Findings indicated significant effects for all three measures across all grade levels, and for primary and intermediate grade bands. The middle school grade band demonstrated significant growth in accuracy and comprehension. Findings have implications for effective tutoring practices that can inform other remedial contexts as well as classroom reading instruction.