The Power of One-on-One: Choosing the Right Tutor
Is your child struggling with learning to read in school? Or maybe you feel they are still trying to catch up after the pandemic? You’re not alone, and tutoring can help, but with so many options available, choosing the right tutor can feel overwhelming. This guide will help.
There are several reasons why a parent might seek out a tutor. Their child may be struggling in school, have a learning difference, or need a challenge beyond what they are getting in the classroom. Additionally, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on learning has increased the number of children who may be missing specific skills that are preventing them from reaching their potential in their current grade. Understanding what makes tutoring effective can help you select the best tutor for your child’s specific needs.
It is understandable that parents are concerned about the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic disruptions on their child’s learning. While the statistics in Canada are limited on this, as many standardized tests were suspended during this time, data from other countries indicate that school closures did have an effect on learning. A meta-analysis examining the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on student achievement across 19 countries found that students experienced learning loss equivalent to approximately 6 months of schooling and that they were not regaining this loss as schools reopened. Furthermore, this learning loss can compound as students progress through school. It is estimated that children who experience a 3-month loss of in-school learning in Grade 3, with no remedial efforts, will be approximately 1 year behind by Grade 10.
The good news is that tutoring can be very effective. With the right tutoring, students can gain approximately 4 months of learning over a school year.
What makes tutoring effective?
Teacher vs. Non-teacher
Non-professional teachers with appropriate training are effective in certain types of tutoring. However, teaching is a skilled profession and in Ontario requires a bachelor’s degree and certification with the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT) to work in most schools. The training provided not only covers curriculum and instruction but also classroom management, working with students with learning differences, and child development. Because teachers work with others, there is also an art to knowing when something is working and when it is not, and to adapting lessons when a student is struggling with a concept. This is likely why tutoring conducted by teachers has been shown to be, on average, more effective than tutoring by non-teachers. However, the value that teachers bring to tutoring likely results in higher costs than hiring non-teacher tutors.
Things to know:
All teachers registered with the Ontario College of Teachers can be found on the College's website at www.oct.ca by searching for their name in the “Find a Teacher” search tool. This will also indicate their degrees, any additional qualifications they may hold, and how long they have been registered with the college.
Additionally, teachers certified with the OCT are also required to take courses on child protection.
Teacher qualifications are based on the grades for which they are certified. For example, primary school teachers are “primary/junior” generalists and are prepared to teach all core subjects from Kindergarten to Grade 6, with a focus on early language and math literacy. Junior/Intermediate teachers focus on Grades 4-9, and Intermediate/Junior teachers can teach middle and high school and have specialized content areas. You can find more information on the different qualifications on the Ontario College of Teachers website.
Virtual vs. In-Person Tutoring
Do a Google search on finding a tutor, and you will see many options for online tutoring. The obvious advantage of virtual tutoring is convenience. The tutor and student can be anywhere and still meet for sessions. While virtual tutoring can be effective, its effectiveness depends on the student's age and needs.
In most research, in-person tutoring has been shown to be more effective. Several factors may contribute to this. A 2025 study found that virtual tutoring is disrupted 19% of the time. They found that 9% of the time lost was due to technological issues, 7% to student behaviour, and the remainder to other factors, such as background noise or students arriving late to group sessions.
My experience teaching Grade 3 students online during the pandemic reflects the challenges mentioned above. Younger students are still learning to use technology, and it is not unusual for part of the lesson to be spent helping them navigate online tools or troubleshooting problems, such as microphones not working.
The authors also point out that these disruptions are less frequent with older students and depend on where the students were during the tutoring sessions. Students in quiet areas with adults who were available to help when something wasn’t working properly had fewer disruptions than when students were trying to work in an area where other people were making noise and had to solve technical issues independently.
Another advantage of in-person learning is the ability to give immediate feedback. Feedback is most effective when provided as close as possible to the error, and, depending on the content being covered, online tools are not well-suited to this.
While in-person tutoring tends to be more effective, there are, of course, reasons why a family may choose virtual over in-person tutoring.
Some things to consider if choosing a virtual tutor:
The age of your child. Younger children may require more technological support and guidance from an adult to stay focused. Will a parent or older person be available to help if needed? Older children may benefit more from virtual tutoring than younger children.
Is there a designated quiet place with minimal distractions where the virtual tutoring can take place? Background noise and other family members engaging in various activities can make it difficult to focus on the lessons.
Is the tutoring provided by a trained teacher? Is the teacher certified in the grades that your child is in?
Curriculum-Based Tutoring
Curriculum-based tutoring aligns with the curriculum students learn at school. The tutor will, if possible, work with the classroom teacher to ensure that the methods and terminology used by the tutor are consistent. While the research is limited on whether this type of tutoring is more effective than others, its benefits include helping students catch up on and retain missing skills in both the classroom and tutoring sessions, and maintaining student interest because there is a direct connection to what they are studying at school.
Curriculum based tutoring can help students achieve their academic goals by addressing gaps in foundational skills needed to succeed at school; identify and support the most important standards necessary for more advanced curriculum later on; support pre-requisite learning for upcoming content before it is taught in class; practice and apply skills currently being taught; and address any misconceptions that the students may have about the current or previous content.
Homework help:
While tutoring to address learning gaps is not homework help, a tutor can help alleviate some of the stress associated with homework. Bringing in an outside person can help reduce conflicts and take some of the pressure off parents. Homework help is exactly what it sounds like. Students bring in their homework, and a tutor can help them work through the requirements and provide support while they complete the work. In this situation, the tutor takes on a role similar to a coach. Rather than teaching the content, the tutor assists as needed and may offer support when it is clear that a knowledge gap prevents task completion. This can be helpful for students who are starting a new subject and are struggling with the new content, such as when fractions are introduced. If a student is behind in foundational areas, curriculum-based tutoring may be more appropriate.
How often should a student see a tutor?
This depends on the purpose of the tutoring. If a student is receiving tutoring because they are behind in a subject, a more intensive tutoring schedule would be appropriate. To help a child acquire missing skills, a more intensive schedule of at least three sessions per week, each lasting 30-60 minutes, for a minimum of 10 weeks, is required to achieve the previously mentioned 4-month learning acceleration. However, budget and time constraints might not allow for this. While it may take longer, weekly tutoring can still help students catch up with foundational skills. The key is to begin as early as possible to prevent a larger gap later on.
Whatever the reason you are seeking a tutor for your child, having this information will help you make the right decision for your child, budget, and schedule.
Have questions about choosing the right tutor? I offer a free consultation to discuss your child’s needs.
Kat Kiddell is passionate about helping struggling readers gain confidence. An OCT-certified teacher with nearly a decade of classroom experience and a Master of Science in Neuroscience and Education, she offers reading tutoring in the Midtown Toronto area using evidence-based strategies from the science of reading.