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Ohio Statewide Program ('24-25)

Lima City Schools (1)

Our 6-8 ELA teacher recently shared an inspiring moment that occurred before our winter benchmark testing. A seventh grader said she was excited to take the reading diagnostic because she felt she was going to do really well, thanks to what she was learning in tutoring with Cignition. She grew 100 points from fall to winter, which was the encouragement she needed to continue her positive growth mindset.

Miranda Meffley
Instructional Coach, Lima City Schools

  • Based on mastery checks, the school achieved 44.6% academic growth1 during the 2024-25 school year.

  • 10 Months of Reading Growth on average in ELA, with mastery growth2 close behind 

  • 70.1% of Students met all three engagement benchmarks (attendance, participation, and contact hours). 

Continued Partnership, Continued Growth

The 2024–25 school year marked the second year of Cignition’s statewide partnership in Ohio, delivered as part of the Future Forward Ohio initiative. Building on the foundation laid in 2023–24, the program expanded its role in many schools, moving from a promising pilot to a core element of the school day.

Because schools already understood the value of high-impact tutoring, many districts incorporated Cignition directly into their master schedules. That buy-in meant that when new groups of students joined, the program could start strong right away. Teachers, administrators, and tutors alike understood how to align tutoring sessions with classroom instruction, maximizing student learning time.

It’s important to note that each year brings new students and unique challenges, but the continuity of partnership allowed schools to approach this second year with confidence. That confidence translated into sustained growth across ELA and math, reinforcing the critical role tutoring plays in accelerating recovery and long-term academic success.

Engagement and Student Experience

Cignition tracks engagement across three core benchmarks — attendance, participation, and contact hours — recognizing that consistent engagement drives the most significant gains.

  • 77.5% Attendance, averaged by program across all participating schools and districts. Each program’s attendance rate reflects the average for the students within that school or district. Some programs performed well above the statewide average, showing strong consistency in student participation.

  • Over 90% Participation, averaged by program. Participation is tutor-reported and reflects how actively students engaged in sessions — collaborating, contributing, and demonstrating consistent involvement. This measure indicates that nearly all students in each program were meaningfully engaged throughout their sessions.

  • 22.3 Average Contact Hours per student, calculated across all participating programs. While some schools saw students accumulate as many as 50 tutoring hours, others fell short of this mark due to scheduling limitations beyond our control. With a statewide goal of 50 hours, averaging 22.3 hours per student across districts and schools represents a strong level of implementation and commitment.

Despite the inherent scheduling challenges schools face, these engagement averages underscore the buy-in from both students and staff. When students attend consistently, participate actively, and receive sufficient instructional time, the academic impact is clear and lasting.

Student Voice

Survey responses confirm that students value the tutoring experience:

  • 96.9% reported building strong, positive relationships with their tutors.

  • 96.2% said sessions encouraged meaningful collaboration.

  • 93.8% reported developing a stronger conceptual understanding.

  • 94.2% reported experiencing productive struggle, learning to persevere through challenges until they succeeded.

This data highlights what makes Cignition’s tutoring more than just extra instructional time. Students are building agency, confidence, and collaboration skills. They’re learning how to engage productively with peers, lean on inquiry-based instruction, and develop the persistence that carries over into their classroom experiences.

Ohio Student Survey

Academic Progress in Math and ELA

At the heart of the program is measurable academic growth.

Students across Ohio achieved an average of 10 months of reading growth, with early elementary students demonstrating particularly strong acceleration. For K–3 learners, every 2.8 tutoring hours (equivalent to 5–6 sessions) translates into one full month of reading skill improvement.

Math students also made steady gains, with mastery checks showing consistent progress in standards over time.

In total, Ohio students achieved:

  • 44.6% average progress on standards across ELA and math.

  • At standout schools, like Plymouth High, standards progress surpassed 132%.

  • Across all standards encountered, 92.4% of them were mastered or near mastery.

These results reflect both the rigor of the program and the dedication of tutors and students.

Ohio 2024 - 2025 ELA Progress
Ohio 2024 - 2025 Math Progress

Engagement Drives Achievement

Cignition’s data makes clear that engagement is directly tied to academic progress.

Students who met all three engagement benchmarks — attendance, participation, and contact hours — mastered or improved roughly one new standard every week.

This finding validates the program’s core design: when students are consistently present, actively engaged, and supported with sufficient instructional time, their progress accelerates dramatically.

Ohio 2024 - 2025 Standards Mastered

Continuous Improvement and Data-Driven Success

Even in its second year, the program continues to evolve. Each dataset is carefully reviewed to guide instructional refinements and scheduling adjustments. Schools face complex scheduling realities, and although not all sites were able to achieve the full target of contact hours, the results still demonstrate the program’s resilience and adaptability.

By combining structured engagement metrics, mastery-based assessments, and alignment with classroom instruction, the program ensures that tutoring supports not only short-term growth but also long-term success. The ongoing focus on data-driven improvement ensures that every hour spent in tutoring translates into meaningful learning.

Looking Ahead

As Ohio moves into the 2025–26 school year, many districts are expanding their partnerships with Cignition, adding more grade levels and serving larger numbers of students.

While Future Forward Ohio funding is set to sunset this year, the state remains committed to high-dosage tutoring as a proven strategy for accelerating learning. Cignition will continue as an approved tutoring vendor, ensuring districts can sustain and scale their programs seamlessly.

Several partners are already planning to continue with Cignition beyond the current funding cycle, citing the undeniable value students, teachers, and families have experienced.

For Ohio schools, the message is clear: the longer the partnership, the more profound the impact.

1 This figure represents the overall percentage increase in student progress across key standards in math and ELA. The growth is calculated by comparing the initial baseline mastery checks (conducted at the program's start) with the final mastery assessments. This growth indicates a significant improvement in students’ understanding of core concepts, as measured by the difference between their baseline and final proficiency scores.

2 These subject-specific improvements highlight the effectiveness of Cignition’s tutoring program in helping students improve their mastery of key math and ELA standards. Math and ELA mastery scores were calculated based on the percentage of students who demonstrated proficiency growth over the school year, moving from “Emerging” or “Partially Proficient” to “Proficient” on the four-point mastery scale.

Glossary and Definitions

  • Academic Growth: Refers to the improvement in student performance from baseline mastery checks to the final mastery assessments, calculated as the percentage increase in proficiency.

  • Math and ELA Mastery: Students' subject-specific proficiency growth in math and ELA is determined by their ability to demonstrate consistent mastery of standards.

  • Qualified Students: Students who participated in enough sessions and assessments to provide valid data for measuring growth. These students completed at least one full mastery check series, and their progress was monitored consistently.

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