By Jane Arnold Lincove, Smitha Prabhu, Christopher Rakes, Erin Roth, and RoJamie Oyenuga

The focus of this study is the Reach Together Tutoring Program (RTTP), a program at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) that began providing school-day math tutoring to elementary and middle school Baltimore City Public Schools students in the fall of 2021, in response to learning disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.  Students received about 24 weeks of tutoring 2-3 times per week from UMBC student tutors.

The study emphasizes years 1 and 2 of RTTP’s work in City Schools, which spanned the 2021-22 and 2022-23 school years.  During those years, 364 and 448 students received tutoring services, respectively.  Researchers examined whether there was a relationship between RTTP participation and improvements in students’ performance on standardized math assessments, specifically iReady.

Researchers found significant growth in math standardized test performance for RTTP-participating students in each year that they studied.  For students in the 2022-23 school year, data suggested that the positive effects of tutoring grew the more tutoring sessions students experienced.

This study was published in January 2026 by the George and Betsy Sherman Center at UMBC.