An analysis of the effects of tutoring on seventh-grade students engaged in the mastery of pre-algebra concepts

The purpose of this study was (1) to analyze the posttest gain scores of tutees receiving one of four variations of tutoring from cross-age/same-age trained tutors and cross-age/same-age untrained tutors; and (2) to analyze the posttest gain scores of students who received one of the four variations with a comparison group who did not receive the training.;The study focused on 32 tutors, 64 tutees and 30 students in the comparison group. Sixteen tutors (8 same-age and 8 cross-age) were trained in a structured tutoring program. Sixteen tutors (8 same-age and 8 cross-age) were not trained in the structured tutoring program.;The subjects in the study were randomly selected for their group. All seventh graders in this suburban middle school received the pretest. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare subjects' performance across all five groups. The following research questions guided the study. (1) Do scores on a pre-algebra test for students who received one of four variations of tutoring differ significantly from each other and from the scores of students who did not receive one of these services? (2) Do scores on a post-algebra test for students who received one of four variations of tutoring differ significantly from each other and from the scores of students who did not receive one of these services? (3) Do scores on a post-post-algebra test for students who received one of four variations of tutoring differ significantly from each other and from the scores of students who did not receive one of these services? (4) Are there significant differences in gain scores from pretest to posttest, pretest to post-posttest, or posttest to post-posttest between students who received one of four variations of tutoring and students who did not receive one of these services? (5) Is there a positive correlation between the pretest, posttest, and post-posttest scores for each of the five groups studied?;The study concluded that same-age trained tutors made a significant and positive difference. Second, the data indicate that significant changes occurred for students assisted by cross-age untrained tutors. To find out why cross-age untrained tutors performed better than cross-age trained tutors is an interesting future research question.