Tutoring for Elementary School Students Does it Work?

As students advance into middle and high school, their classes get more difficult and it’s not uncommon for some to struggle in one subject or another. Often, parents will seek out professional tutors who can help these students understand difficult material for a specific class or assist them in completing homework, studying for exams, or working on a project. But what about elementary school? Is there a benefit or need to hire a professional tutor at such a young age?

“I Should Be Able to Do This Myself”

In the earliest years of school, students learn the basics — everything from the alphabet and simple reading to writing, number recognition, basic mathematical operations and so on. Due to differing levels of maturity as well as ability, some students will immediately pick up on these concepts whereas others will struggle with one or more areas of learning. As they advance through elementary school, math, reading and writing will become more challenging and other subjects will be added to the mix as well, for example social studies, science, history and even foreign language. Parents often feel they should be able to easily work with their children on homework at this age. After all, the assignments are generally not too complicated and parents believe they won’t have any issues understanding the coursework the kids are assigned.

However, sometimes a parent’s assistance isn’t enough. The student may get frustrated with his or her parent — or vice versa. The parent may not understand why the student is struggling with concepts that seems to simple. There might be underlying issues that the parent doesn’t recognize, such as learning disabilities. Additionally, as parents cope with balancing work and home life, deal with siblings, try to stay on top of everyone’s schedules and activities, plus address any other unexpected events occurring, they may be unable to give their children the individual attention necessary to work through academic challenges.

 What Are The Benefits of Tutoring Elementary Students?

There is often more to tutoring than just helping a student understand academic material or complete his or her homework. In elementary school, children are not only learning actual academic concepts, they are also learning how to learn! Particularly with younger students, a professional tutor can help develop study and learning skills that they will be able to use throughout their lives.

A report issued by the U.S. Department of Education summarized research that showed well designed tutoring programs can be very helpful to improving children’s academic skills. For example, an analysis of one-on-one reading intervention for elementary school students who were at risk of reading failure showed that the intervention was very effective. Another study cited in the report found that a group of Florida elementary students who worked with adult tutors out-performed a group of students who were not tutored. In addition to academic improvement, the report cited studies that showed how individual tutoring helped students with increased self confidence and motivation.

Robert Slavin, Director of the Center for Research and Reform in Education at Johns Hopkins University, states, “Tutoring does not work due to individualization alone. It works due to individualization plus nurturing and attention.” In other words, the benefit of hiring a private tutor for your young students is not just to help them academically. It is also to nurture and encourage them so that they feel better about their abilities and have more confidence academically. This confidence in turn will often boost their academic performance in the classroom.

There are many reasons to consider hiring a private professional tutor for your elementary school students:

• With one teacher overseeing a classroom of 25, 30 or even more elementary age students, it is not surprising that some children simply do not get the individual attention they need to learn the material, and consequently they may start to fall behind almost immediately. A professional tutor can give your child the individualized academic assistance and attention that he or she may not be getting at school.

•  In a one-on-one tutoring session, a tutor can focus on the student’s learning style and adapt teaching methods accordingly. With younger children, for example, some students may have short attention spans or may be more visual than auditory learners. A well trained tutor will be able to recognize these differing learning styles and cater the tutoring style to best benefit the student.

•  Young students may be frustrated and feel inadequate because they see their classmates having a much easier time learning the material. Since they are often in class with the same students every day, these differences will become obvious to them and their dissatisfaction with their academic performance may feel more inevitable and unfixable as the school year progresses. A professional tutor will know how to teach the material in a way that the student can grasp it, as well as provide encouragement and praise to help increase the student’s self esteem and confidence.

•  In addition to focusing on academic concepts such as reading, mathematics and other topics, a professional tutor can also help your students develop study habits that will stay with them for life. For example, students may learn how to stay organized, manage their time effectively, develop study skills that work for their particular learning style, and so on. These skills will carry them far beyond elementary school and be extremely beneficial as they move to middle school, high school and beyond.

Synergy Academics has professional tutors who can work very effectively with students of all ages, including as young as kindergarten. Students meet with their tutors in our West Hills state-of-the-art facility in private cubicles. The Center is quiet and distraction free, providing an ideal atmosphere for learning. Our tutors are not only extremely competent academic instructors but are also focused on developing nurturing and positive relationships with their students. Read about our tutoring services here or call us at (818) 888-8665 so we can match your elementary age child with the perfect tutor to address his or her academic needs!