2025–26 Impact Report
In our biggest year yet, Step Up delivered more than 120,000 hours of one-on-one tutoring to over 5,000 students, bringing our total to more than 300,000 hours since 2020. Our students outpaced national growth benchmarks in both math and reading, and an independent study of our AI-supported tutoring model earned ESSA Tier III evidence.
Accelerating learning in math and reading
We partner with Title 1 schools and districts to reach students who are behind grade level. On the i-Ready and NWEA MAP assessments, which have published national growth norms, Step Up students grew faster than students nationally, and the share at grade level more than tripled.
Among 366 Step Up reading students with i-Ready or NWEA MAP results, average growth was 63% higher than the national benchmark (+0.83 SD vs. +0.51 SD).
i-Ready ELA: students on or above grade level
N=322
Foundational reading skills (ROAR)
Stanford’s Rapid Online Assessment of Reading (ROAR) measures foundational skills such as phonics and word recognition. From the start of tutoring to the end of the year, more Step Up students achieved foundational reading skills and fewer needed extra support.
Start of tutoring to end of year (N=305)
Reading gains in a large urban district
Step Up students posted larger i-Ready ELA gains than students in high-dose virtual tutoring and high-dose in-person tutoring.
Average i-Ready ELA score gain. Source: Step Up analysis, district-published data.
Among 509 Step Up math students with i-Ready or NWEA MAP results across five district partners, average growth was 12% higher than the national benchmark (+0.81 SD vs. +0.72 SD).
i-Ready Math: students on or above grade level
N=476
Math percentile growth (Eedi)
Eedi is a math personalized learning platform that measures students’ understanding of grade-level math skills and pinpoints misconceptions. Step Up students’ percentile rank rose 31 points on Eedi from fall to spring.
Fall to spring (N=1,205)
Math gains in a large urban district
Step Up students’ i-Ready Math gains were on par with high-dose virtual tutoring in the district’s published evaluation.
Average i-Ready Math score gain. Source: Step Up analysis, district-published data.
AI that strengthens human tutors
Many see AI as a way to replace tutors with chatbots. We use it to make human tutors better. Sidekick, our AI copilot for math tutors, provides curriculum-aligned lessons, in-the-moment support for addressing misconceptions, and coaching after each session, while keeping the relationship between tutor and student at the center.
LeanLab Education study of Sidekick, spring 2026
LeanLab Education, an independent education research organization, compared students whose tutors used Sidekick with students whose tutors used standard tutoring materials. The two groups were statistically equivalent at the start of the study. Students in the Sidekick group reported significantly higher math self-efficacy, motivation, and enjoyment, lower math anxiety, and stronger support from their tutor. Based on these results, the study meets ESSA Tier III “Promising Evidence” standards.
experimental
Student math mindset after tutoring
Estimated marginal means on the Math Minds survey (6-point scale), adjusted for each student’s pre-survey score; error bars show 95% confidence intervals. All four differences are statistically significant (p < .05). Percentages show the relative difference between groups. N=66 students with pre- and post-surveys.
Feeling supported by their tutor
Students whose tutors used Sidekick reported feeling significantly more supported, on survey items such as “my tutor explains things that I don’t understand” and “shows me how to do things step by step.” This was the study’s largest effect (effect size 1.31, p < .001).
Why it matters
Confidence, motivation, and lower anxiety are foundational for students behind grade level, and research consistently links them to math achievement. Since the study, we have added curriculum-aligned lesson content to Sidekick, and it is rolling out across all Step Up math tutoring in 2026–27.
Growing reach, lowering cost
In 2025–26, we more than doubled the number of students served while growing costs only modestly, leading to a 41% drop in cost per hour. Students also received more tutoring: those enrolled all year averaged 37 hours each, and students attended 82% of expected sessions.
Hours of tutoring delivered
All-in cost per tutoring hour
Expanding reach to communities across the country
85% of Step Up students attend Title 1 schools. In 2025–26 we deepened our work in Los Angeles, San Jose, and the Bay Area and launched pilots in New York City and Washington, DC.
Based on family survey responses (N=965), which likely understate actual rates.
A tutor corps that builds the teacher pipeline
Our 2025–26 tutor corps doubled to 3,163 tutors. College students paid through Federal Work-Study and similar programs delivered 63% of tutoring hours, drawn from 46 partner colleges and universities in 13 states, including USC, UC Riverside, George Washington University, Johns Hopkins, UNC Chapel Hill, University of Miami, Tufts, and Virginia Tech.