2024 Annual Report

For more than 10 years, Saga Education — the mighty nonprofit I co-founded with AJ Gutierrez — has sought to leverage the proven power of high-impact tutoring (HIT) to transform public education and improve outcomes for underserved students. Research on our approach to personalized learning proves that HIT produces large learning gains for many students, particularly those who have fallen behind academically.

We are at a critical point in the evolution of high- impact tutoring, and Saga now has a central role to play in driving widespread access to this solution. While some students have made gains from pandemic-related learning interruptions, the results vary, with gaps widening between high- and low-poverty districts. The average student remains four months behind in math and five months behind in reading, according to the nonprofit NWEA. With the expiration of ESSER funds, school districts are searching for sustainable pathways to continue supporting tutoring. Tutoring continues to increase in use at schools nationwide, but not all tutoring is equal. How much impact there will be depends on quality and dosage.

Saga’s priority is focused on helping one million kids each year in this country who are at risk of failing algebra. Algebra 1 is a gateway to successful high school graduation and, unfortunately a barrier to one million students at risk of failing the course. Graduation rates increase fourfold if students pass Algebra 1 versus the graduation rate for those who fail it. This is a key pain point for districts, and we know we can help them if they implement effective tutoring. We also want to find ways to support the 2 million who are at risk of not being proficient in reading by the end of third grade. To do this, we focus on supporting states and districts nationwide with technical assistance, product co-development, and strategic direct services to help schools get tutoring right. Research from the University of Chicago Education Lab shows that school districts can tailor in-school-day, high-impact tutoring to their local context, strongly impacting student learning, particularly in math. This work is pivotal for demonstrating the flexibility of various high-impact tutoring models to districts and encouraging them to increase the scale of tutoring. High-quality tutoring also has a potential role in helping schools address chronic absenteeism and recruiting new talent through the tutor-to-teacher pipeline.

We have a bold plan to make big, lasting changes. By 2033, we want every school district in the U.S. to include key elements of our framework for personalized learning in their budgets, schedules, and staffing plans. This means high-impact tutoring will happen during the regular school day. Tutors will get coaching to help them succeed, and students will get enough tutoring to make a real difference in their learning. To make this goal a reality, our strategic plan calls for making intentional investments to expand awareness and develop tools, solutions, and systems to make it possible for districts to implement HIT with fidelity for the benefit of students.

Imagine a United States where 100% of students pass Algebra 1. How much would that impact student graduation rates, lifetime earnings, and economic mobility? If 100% of U.S. high school students passed Algebra 1, we’d see a seismic shift in educational and economic outcomes. High school graduation rates, currently around 85%, would nudge closer to universal completion. More students would progress into higher-level math courses, raising college enrollment and completion rates, and thus bumping up lifetime earnings — potentially by 5-15%. This dramatic improvement in baseline math proficiency would also unlock new pathways for economic mobility, as STEM careers and well-paying jobs become accessible to wider swaths of the population. In short, making Algebra 1 universally mastered wouldn’t just change report cards; it would change lives and livelihoods.

In this Annual Report, we share how our team works to Change the Equation — creating opportunities where every student can achieve their full potential. Central to this effort, we are providing districts with expert guidance in securing funding, hiring staff, integrating tutoring into the school day, providing robust and appropriate learning materials, and providing tutors professional development and coaching. All of us at Saga are dedicated to increasing student confidence, engagement, and academic success. Join us in working to Change the Equation!