Group size
Up to 4 students per tutor
In 2025–26, groups were typically up to four students per tutor.
The challenge
More reading support. Delivered live, to students at home.
OCA sought to provide students across its statewide virtual school with targeted academic intervention in reading and mathematics. Small-group, high-impact tutoring offered additional individualized instruction to help students strengthen foundational skills and make academic progress.
That is where the work began: math and ELA first, early reading in year two, and two programs in 2025–26.
How it works
Small groups, set times, staff in the loop.
Here is what a week looked like for OCA students in 2025–26.
The format
How often
4 days a week, 30 minutes
In 2025–26, sessions ran four days a week for 30 minutes. Each group meets at the same day and time each week.
When
During the school day
In 2025–26, both the elementary ELA program and the high school Math + ELA program ran during the school day, with students joining live from home. The high school program ran from September through Thanksgiving 2025.
The people
Who tutors
Screened, trained, prepared
Cignition uses a rigorous selection process that includes reviewing qualifications and experience, subject-specific assessments, live teaching demonstrations, and background screening. Selected tutors complete onboarding and instructional preparation focused on effective virtual small-group tutoring.
What school staff do
Schedule, encourage, stay informed
OCA staff set the schedule and encourage attendance. A Cignition program manager sends absence notifications and shares updates on attendance, participation, and progress. OCA has also described a dashboard showing engagement, progress, and tutor feedback.
The school’s view
In the school’s words.
Cignition demonstrated the capacity to provide high-quality virtual tutoring services with evidence of student engagement and academic progress. We appreciate their partnership and support of our students and would welcome the opportunity to work with them again in the future.
Stephanie Nickles, M.Ed., NBCTPrincipal of Curriculum and Instruction, Ohio Connections Academy
From OCA’s June 2026 letter on the 2025–26 school year.
Results · 2023–2026
Three school years, one partnership.
Year two focused on reading for students on reading plans. Year three added a high school program alongside the elementary one.
-
Year 1 · 2023–24
Launch
173students received tutoring that year, according to OCA’s July 2024 letter
At the start, fall 2023
- 80
- middle school students in math tutoring
- 60
- high school students in Algebra and Geometry tutoring
- 40
- students in ELA tutoring
-
Year 2 · 2024–25
Early reading
380+students joined small-group reading tutoring in 2024–25
- 38.1% → 75.2%
- of responses at the highest mastery level, first check to latest
- 32.9%
- schoolwide average growth on mastery checks, K–5 ELA
Mid-year snapshot, February 2025
-
Year 3 · 2025–26
Two programs
45%average mastery-check growth, 2025–26 elementary ELA (K–5)
- 7.6 months
- average reading growth, 2025–26 elementary program
- 57.7%
- average mastery-check growth, high school Math + ELA
High school program: September to Thanksgiving 2025
Results · 2024–25 and 2025–26
The detail behind years two and three.
2024–25 · mid-year
2024–25 · K–5 English language arts · mid-year, February 2025
01020304050
Kindergarten
35.8%
1st grade
33.4%
2nd grade
32.7%
3rd grade
37.0%
4th grade
25.2%
5th grade
26.1%
Schoolwide
32.9%
Mastery checks are short questions built into every lesson. The bar shows average growth from each student’s first check to the latest one.
2024–25 · mid-year
2024–25 · K–5 English language arts · mid-year, February 2025
0255075100
First mastery check (baseline)
38.1%
Latest mastery check (current)
75.2%
The highest level means the student gave the correct answer, cited evidence from the text, and explained their thinking.
2025–26 · two programs
Elementary ELA (K–5) and high school Math + ELA, shown separately
0255075100
Elementary ELA, K–5
45.0%
High school, both subjects
57.7%
High school math
59.7%
High school ELA
44.7%
Average growth from each student’s first mastery check to the latest or final one.
2025–26 · two programs
Elementary ELA (K–5) and high school Math + ELA, shown separately
Average attendance
Elementary67.8%
High school71.4%
Live tutoring time per student
Elementary29 hours
High school14.2 hours
Average attendance was 67.8% in the 2025–26 elementary program and 71.4% in the high school program, which ran September to Thanksgiving 2025. Average live tutoring time per student was 29 hours and 14.2 hours.
About these numbers
What the numbers mean.
What should I know about these numbers?
Cignition builds mastery checks into every lesson: short questions that show which standards a student has mastered. The growth percentages here are average growth from a student’s first check to the latest, and they come from those checks, not from state tests. The 7.6 months of reading growth comes from a separate measure, Cignition’s program-aligned reading measure, and is not a state test result either. The 2024–25 numbers are from February 2025, part-way through that year. These are program-reported findings from one school. Many things shape student progress, so they describe what happened, not what caused it.
Why is 2024–25 a mid-year snapshot?
Those figures come from a data recap Cignition shared with OCA in February 2025, part-way through the year. They show progress to that point, not end-of-year results.