Lessons from Pandemic-Era Tutoring (with Liz Cohen)

For decades, there has been research showing that tutoring can be a highly effective mode of instruction, but before 2020, large, in-school tutoring programs were not widespread. Then the pandemic struck, and large tutoring programs cropped up in districts around the nation. In fact, according to the June 2025 School Pulse Panel, 85% of American public schools now offer tutoring, with 42% offering high-dosage tutoring.Has this COVID-era experiment been successful? Should these tutoring programs stick around as the pandemic recedes further from view? And what might AI mean for the future of tutoring? On this episode of The Report Card, Nat Malkus discusses these questions, and more, with Liz Cohen.Liz Cohen is the vice president of policy at 50Can and the author of The Future of Tutoring: Lessons from 10,000 School District Tutoring Initiatives.