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HIGH-IMPACT VIRTUAL TUTORING

High-impact virtual tutoring.
A program built to help students think, participate, and grow.

Cignition brings live tutors, purpose-built math and ELA instruction, useful data, and hands-on implementation support together in one connected program, configured around the students, schedule, and priorities.

Our Program Graphic FY26

Program at a Glance

K–12

Math + ELA

Live

Virtual instruction

1:1 or 2–4

Small groups of 2–4

Consistent

Tutor + group

FROM NEED TO NEXT DECISION

The tutoring session is the visible part. The operating model keeps it working.

A strong program makes the work before, around, and after each session explicit. The five stages below show how an initial need becomes a supported implementation, and how the experience informs what happens next.

HOW THE PROGRAM WORKS

Five stages carry the work from purpose to improvement.

Open each step to see the distinct job it performs in the program lifecycle.

Define the purpose

Be clear about the need tutoring is meant to address.

The work starts by identifying the learners, academic priorities, and local context the program needs to respond to. That creates a useful definition of success before schedules and rosters take over the conversation.

  • Students to be served
  • Academic focus
  • Meaningful signs of progress
Configure the model

Build an operating plan the school can actually sustain.

Session length, frequency, group size, scheduling, and on-site support are planned together. The goal is a model that gives students a realistic path to consistent participation and the intended dosage.

  • Schedule and frequency
  • Group size and rosters
  • On-site roles and access
Prepare for launch

Turn the plan into groups, access, and a ready first session.

Cignition translates the agreed model into rosters, access, an instructional starting point, and a coordinated first-session plan.

  • Tutor and group readiness
  • Starting instructional focus
  • Technology and launch coordination
Support participation

Keep implementation barriers from becoming the program.

Once sessions begin, the work shifts to follow-through. Cignition and the partner stay connected around attendance, access, communication, and emerging issues so practical changes can happen while they still matter.

  • Attendance follow-through
  • Access and scheduling issues
  • Clear communication paths
Review and decide

Use the full implementation story to plan what comes next.

Scheduled reviews bring the partner and Cignition back to the original purpose. Together, the teams consider what students experienced, whether the model operated as intended, and what should continue or change.

  • Progress toward the purpose
  • Implementation context
  • Next-step decisions

DATA WITH A JOB TO DO

Useful signals.
Practical decisions.
Better questions.

Data-informed instruction and implementation help the team respond while a program is underway. Data-driven continuous improvement helps Cignition and its partners learn across the full program.

Signals we can review

  • Attendance and contact hours
  • Participation and engagement
  • Standards and mastery progress
  • Available diagnostic information
  • Student, tutor, and partner feedback

Decisions they can inform

  • Instructional focus
  • Tutor or group composition
  • Schedule and participation support
  • Partner communication
  • Program changes over time

A RESPONSIBLE EVIDENCE STORY

Research gives us a foundation, not a shortcut.

Independent randomized studies found statistically significant learning gains in specific fifth-grade fractions programs using Cignition’s one-to-one and small-group tutoring models. Those findings are an important part of our evidence base, alongside case studies and implementation data from real programs.

We use each source for what it can tell us: research to test specific questions, program data to track implementation and student progress, and partner context to understand what the numbers do and do not mean.

MTSS INTEGRATION

Give tutoring a defined job inside the support system.

Cignition does not replace a school’s MTSS, core instruction, or local intervention team. It adds instructional capacity to address an identified need within the system the school already leads.

The goal is connection: a clear role for tutoring, useful visibility for the local team, and no claim that one outside service can stand in for the full system of support.

Local Foundation

Core instruction and the school's intervention system remain central.

Educators and local teams have the most complete view of student needs, classroom priorities, and the supports already in place.

Added Capacity

Tutoring takes on a specific, bounded instructional role.

Cignition adds recurring small-group time and focused math or ELA instruction for the learners and needs the partner identifies.

Team Response

Shared visibility helps the larger system respond.

Program signals add context for local review. School teams retain responsibility for decisions across tiers, services, and the student’s broader plan.

WHAT STRONG IMPLEMENTATION ASKS

The work is shared.
So is the learning.

We do not treat every implementation as interchangeable. A strong program depends on clear roles, protected time, and ongoing communication from both sides.

Cignition

Cignition brings

  • Vetted tutors and ongoing instructional support
  • Purpose-built math and ELA curriculum
  • Program management and quality monitoring
  • Reporting, review, and responsive adjustments
School

School partners bring

  • Clear student, program, and scheduling priorities
  • Protected time and appropriate on-site support
  • Participation follow-through and local context
  • Feedback that helps the program improve

MTSS ADVISORY BOARD

Perspectives connected
to real schools.

Cignition’s MTSS Advisory Board brings perspectives from district leadership, research, school practice, psychology, intervention, and educational equity.

Michelle Brown Headshot
Michelle Brown

Special Education Specialist

Rancho Santa Fe School District, CA

P_Gittisriboongul Headshot
Patrick Gittisriboongul

Assistant Superintendent, Technology & Innovation


Lynwood Unified School District, CA

Scott Judy Headshot 2
Scott Judy

Social Studies Concurrent Enrollment Teacher


Viewmont High School, UT

Dr Nancy Lewin Headshot
Nancy Lewin, Ed.D.

Senior Director


ACT Center for Equity in Learning

S Loeb Headshot
Susanna Loeb, Ph.D.

Professor and Director


Stanford University and NSSA

Dr. Joe Mullikin Headshot
Joe Mullikin, Ed.D.

Principal Consultant and Owner


OMT Consulting

Kimberly Porter Headshot
Kimberly Porter

Director of MTSS


Antelope Valley Union High School District, CA

Jamie Raborn Headshot
Jamie Raborn, Ph.D., NCSP

MTSS Coordinator


Rapides Parish Schools, LA

PROGRAM QUESTIONS

The short, direct version.

Clear answers for school and district leaders evaluating a virtual tutoring partner.

Is Cignition's school tutoring program a fixed package?

No. Cignition offers live virtual K–12 math and ELA tutoring, but the operating model is configured with each partner. Students served, schedule, group size, session frequency, local requirements, and reporting needs can shape the final design.

When can Cignition tutoring take place?

Programs can be scheduled during the school day, in an intervention block, or outside regular instructional hours when the partner can protect recurring time and provide the access students need. The strongest schedule is the one students can attend consistently.

Does a school need standardized test data to begin?

Not necessarily. Cignition can use the academic and contextual information a partner can appropriately share, along with student responses and program evidence gathered during implementation. Standardized test data can add context when available.

Is Cignition a test-prep program?

Test preparation is not Cignition’s primary model. The program focuses on students’ identified math and ELA learning needs and can align instruction to relevant grade-level standards and academic priorities.

How do schools implement virtual tutoring at scale?

Schools implement virtual tutoring by agreeing on the students to serve, instructional priorities, recurring schedule, groups, technology access, and staff responsibilities before launch. Cignition provides tutors, curriculum, program management, and instructional support; school partners protect tutoring time, coordinate student access, and follow up on participation. During the program, both teams review attendance, contact hours, engagement, and academic progress to decide what needs adjusting. The operating plan should fit each school’s context.

Why can virtual tutoring programs fall short of their goals?

A tutoring schedule alone does not ensure students receive the intended instruction. Missed sessions, access problems, limited time in tutoring, and low participation can reduce the opportunity to learn. Teams should also check whether the instructional focus matches student needs and whether local responsibilities are clear. Cignition’s program reports examine academic results alongside attendance, contact hours, and engagement. Those relationships help identify questions for improvement; they do not establish that any one factor caused an outcome.

How do districts measure the impact of virtual tutoring?

Districts measure tutoring results by defining the learning goal, reviewing academic progress, and checking how the program was implemented. Attendance, actual contact hours, and engagement describe students’ participation. Diagnostics and tutor-rated mastery describe different aspects of academic progress and should be reported separately.

For each result, identify the students included, grade and subject, timeframe, assessment, and any missing records. Compare baseline and final scores only when the measure supports that comparison. Read outcomes alongside implementation data and the report’s limitations before making decisions.

See the Denver 2022–23 case study and Ohio statewide 2023–24 case study for report-specific measures and source reports.

Our Methodology

Follow the instructional decisions that help students explain ideas, make connections, and use learning in new contexts.

 

Our Tutors

See what Cignition looks for when selecting tutors and how selection, matching, and continued support differ.

START WITH THE NEED

Let's build the right program, not force a standard one.

Tell us about the students, schedule, and goals. We’ll help determine the model and whether Cignition is a fit.