Why Struggling Students Need 1:1 Reading Intervention

Securing reading intervention for the students who need it the most has never been as important as now. According to the latest exam results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), American students who struggle with reading are falling further and further behind. The National Center for Education Statistics commissioner Peggy Carr told reporters that the gap between high- and low-performing students is at its widest on record. 

There’s no time to waste. Helping students who may be years behind grade-level in reading skills requires targeted, research-backed strategies – in short, 1:1 reading intervention. With proper dosage, quality 1:1 tutoring can provide months of progress, with similar results for online tutoring. It gives the student a tutor’s undivided attention, fosters trust to build a strong student-teacher relationship, and allows for greater interaction and feedback. There are indications that it can even help lower absenteeism. 

However, the most significant benefit of 1:1 reading tutoring is the ability to identify exactly what skills each student needs to learn and where to progress from there. 

Follow along as we compare actual data from two students currently enrolled with Hoot Reading’s 1:1 reading tutoring through their school district. We’ll show how 1:1 instruction targets missing skills and ensures each student gets exactly the help they need. 

Targeted Reading Intervention: A Tale of Two Fourth-Graders

The Scenario

Two fourth-grade students are attending the same school in a school district in California. They are both enrolled in reading tutoring with Hoot Reading through their district. 

The Data

This data reflects the pre-assessment scores of each student when we began working with them in September 2024. It represents their abilities in basic phonic skills before having begun 1:1 reading intervention with Hoot.

Hoot Reading Pre-Assessment Data

*This skill was not tested because the student did not pass the assessments for the previous units. 

The spelling patterns in the far-left column reflect a typical skill progression in a phonics scope and sequence.  These skills are most commonly found in first-grade learning standards, meaning both students are several years behind their grade level and are at significant academic risk. For different reasons, neither student can read simple, one-syllable words, and they are likely feeling the effect in all their academic subjects.

Why Small Group Reading Intervention is Not Sufficient

In a small group reading tutoring scenario, students with similar skill gaps would work together with a tutor, grouped using data similar to what is shown above. Because both Student A and Student B require work on long vowels, they might be grouped together for small group work. 

However, Student A’s learning would be severely compromised in a group setting. This is because phonics instruction must be taught sequentially, with each skill building on previously learned skills. And as Student A isn’t yet secure with reading words with short vowels (CVC Words), they are not yet ready for long vowels, needing intervention at a less complex skill.  Student B is prepared for Long Vowel support and already knows how these words work. They need to efficiently address the spelling patterns that are still tricky for them and move on. Working in a group with Student A could slow them down.

This is not to say that small group work is never effective. Highly skilled teachers and interventionists can make strategic choices about grouping students. Still, they must have proper assessments that break down learning gaps into granular skills, so they aren’t approximating their students' required skills. As we see above, working on “first-grade” phonics skills is not precise enough to diagnose each child’s unique needs. 

Academic Success Through 1:1 Reading Tutoring With Hoot

The Hoot Reading Assessment is a comprehensive diagnostic assessment that is the starting point of our 1:1 reading intervention program. We know that every student’s abilities are unique, and having data at the skill level is essential to delivering targeted instruction. 

If we refer back to the data above, our assessment identified each student's mastery level in each phonics skill. Using our proprietary technology, this student data was used to generate individualized instructional pathways for each of these two students and provided the corresponding curricular resources to their tutors to help them plan their lessons.  Student A started with CVC Words, and Student B with Long Vowels.  They’ve each had an assessment to check on their progress. 

Here are the students’ results from our latest assessments:

In our latest assessment, Student A had mastered the CVC Words (meaning they scored 90% or higher on the assessment for the unit) and were making good progress in Digraphs, moving from 30% to 65%. They will continue to practice with their tutor until they have mastered the skill and are ready to move on. Student B has mastered long vowels. In their last assessment, they went from 20% to 70% in Basic Vowel Teams. 

Despite the work left to do, both students are progressing according to their unique needs and showing significant and encouraging growth. We know that 1:1 tutoring has put them on the path to reading success, and we’re proud of their work so far! 

Contact us to learn how 1:1 tutoring can help your child master the foundational literacy skills they need to become strong readers.