Paper Education announced today that its GROW High-Impact Tutoring program has met the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Level III “Promising Evidence” standard, following an independent analysis conducted by Instructure and The International Centre for EdTech Impact. The study found that middle school students who attended more GROW high-impact tutoring sessions achieved statistically significant gains in math, reinforcing the program’s evidence-based efficacy.

Study shows measurable gains in student achievement 

The Spring 2025 study evaluated outcomes for 123 students in Grades 4, 6, 7, and 8 who participated in GROW high-impact tutoring. On average, each student completed 15 tutoring sessions—over 600 minutes of focused, small-group instruction—with an impressive 81% attendance rate. 

For students in grades 7 and 8, the results were striking: the more sessions they attended, the higher their math scores climbed. Every 10% increase in attendance was tied with a 5-9 percentile point gain on end-of-program assessments. These findings highlight a clear connection between consistent participation and measurable student academic growth. 

Validation of GROW’s high-impact tutoring program 

“This study affirms that GROW is delivering real, measurable gains for students,” said Martina Tam, CEO of Paper Education. “We’ve built GROW with a disciplined focus on evidence, implementation quality, and outcomes that districts can trust. We’re proud to stand out as a partner with independently validated results that demonstrate meaningful impact in the classroom.”

GROW’s high-impact tutoring model combines small-group, curriculum-aligned tutoring with consistent, high-quality tutors who meet with students 90 minutes weekly typically for 10-12 weeks. This approach builds stronger relationships, keeps instruction aligned with the classroom, and drives measurable academic growth.

The research, led by Instructure with support from The International Centre for EdTech Impact, used regression analyses controlling for prior achievement to measure the relationship between tutoring dosage and student performance from beginning- to end-of-semester math assessments.

The findings add to a growing base of evidence showing GROW’s effectiveness, including a 201% grade-level proficiency gain and receiving Stanford’s National Student Support Accelerator Tutoring Program Design Badge recognition, underscoring Paper’s commitment to results that districts can trust.

For additional details and to access the full study, visit GROW Level III Efficacy Report.