Saga Education is the nation’s nonprofit leader for helping states and districts to stand up effective math tutoring as part of a comprehensive strategy to address student math achievement. Saga is already helping the Moore, OK district and now there is another way for Oklahoma districts to secure Saga’s help.
The State Partnership for Proven Programs is a public/private partnership offering Oklahoma school districts an opportunity to access matching philanthropic funding to support rigorous, evidence-based educational programs that deliver measurable, lasting impacts for students.
The State Partnership for Proven Programs is a joint effort between the national philanthropy Arnold Ventures and the State of Oklahoma, offering matching funding to help districts implement rigorous, research-backed models—specifically the ASSISTments math platform and Saga Education tutoring.
The Oklahoma State Department of Education Office of Title Services held a webinar in May, highlighting this opportunity for Oklahoma school districts to leverage high-impact, evidence-based math tutoring support. To watch the full video, go to this link.
The Case for Evidence-Based Tutoring
During the webinar, the Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy presented data on the impact of Saga tutoring. The Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy is a nonpartisan nonprofit that serves as an impartial expert resource for the State Partnership for Proven Programs. They identify programs that have been shown to improve student outcomes in rigorous trials.
Saga’s math tutoring program stands out as an educational intervention for its consistent, high-level impact. As Jon Baron, Founder and President of the Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy noted during the webinar: “The Saga program is unique in that if a district adopted it and implemented it faithfully in a low-income population, they would see meaningful sizable gains in math test scores on the state test for their students.”
Research has shown Saga to raise state test scores by over 70 percent of a grade level at a three-year follow-up. In a recent article in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, Baron and his co-authors write that, “These programs were selected not because they were trendy or new, but because they had demonstrated meaningful impact in multiple rigorous evaluations and offered a reasonable expectation of success at scale.”
Putting Evidence into Practice in Oklahoma
For Oklahoma districts, the partnership model is designed to be sustainable. Through Arnold Ventures, districts can secure matching funds, significantly lowering the per-student cost of implementation.
Beyond the numbers, the implementation experience matters for districts, said Shannon Woodson, Assistant Superintendent of Instruction at Moore Public Schools. Moore Public Schools is the fourth-largest school district in Oklahoma with three high schools, six junior high schools, and 25 elementary schools.
She shared her district’s experience piloting Saga in two junior high schools that are currently on the state’s targeted school improvement list. The feedback from teachers and students is promising, and the district plans to continue the program next year, she said: “I will tell you Saga has been great to work with. Saga is so responsive. I’ve been impressed with the quality of the materials and with the quality of the tutors.”
Woodson also noted that even with seventh and eighth graders (a population that can be resistant to new programs), the reception has been positive. “They’ve built relationships with their tutors. I think they actually look forward to it now,” she said.
For Oklahoma leaders, this is a chance to invest in math programs with documented, measurable success. To learn more about Saga tutoring, visit saga.org/oklahoma.