ESSER INVESTMENT TO IMPACT - How States Used Federal Relief Funding to Scale High-Impact Tutoring - August 2024

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Kyle

Provides an August 2024 overview of how states leveraged Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) set-aside funds to expand high-impact tutoring and improve academic outcomes. Summarizes investment categories and scale across 32 states, then outlines program features such as frequent sessions, small group tutoring, progress monitoring, curriculum alignment, and tutor training. Includes state examples from Illinois, Tennessee, and Colorado and connects tutoring efforts to measurable reading and math proficiency gains.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages2

Reading Time5 min

AccessFree to download

State ESSER Tutoring Investments (Millions)

State Impact

ESSER Overview

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[www.ccsso.org](www.ccsso.org) ESSER INVESTMENT TO IMPACT HOW STATES USED FEDERAL RELIEF FUNDING TO SCALE HIGH-IMPACT TUTORING AUGUST 2024 32 STATES dedicated more than $840 MILLION in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) state set-aside funds to expand access to tutoring services. These programs are having a direct impact on improving academic outcomes for students. STATE ESSER TUTORING INVESTMENTS (MILLIONS) $23M Virtual Tutoring (8 states) $592M High-Impact Tutoring Initiatives (24 states) $20M Tutor Training and Local Supports (7 states) $205M Grants for Private Services (4 states) *Includes investments from ESSER I, II and III STATE IMPACT Effective high-impact tutoring programs consist of three or more tutoring sessions per week, targeted relationship building between the tutor and the student by keeping the tutoring groups smaller than four students, progress monitoring with formative assessments, alignment to the school curriculum and formal support and training for the tutors. Investments in tutoring are already paying off, contributing to nationwide improvement in academic outcomes. To name a few examples: IL The Illinois State Board of Education invested $28 million in the Illinois Tutoring Initiative, which was implemented in collaboration with institutions of higher education and designed around research-based principles. Tutored students had more consistent reading and math growth than their peers between fall and spring of 2022-23, and the impacts of tutoring were even greater in math for students receiving special education services and those who are English language learners. Since Tennessee’s statewide high-dosage, low-ratio tutoring initiative—TN ALL Corps—was established by law and launched in 2022, the state has invested more than $135 million from the ESSER state set-aside, with more than 200,000 students to benefit from the tutoring program. Participating students indicate progress toward meeting grade-level expectations in math and English language arts (ELA). A combination of student supports, including high-dosage, low-ratio tutoring, summer programming and professional development for educators, have contributed to improved student outcomes. Notably, third graders made historic gains on the ELA portion of the state’s annual assessment, improving proficiency by 4.3 percentage points to 43. 5% in 2023. Most recent state annual assessment results indicate that the same cohort improved proficiency on the fourth grade ELA section by an additional 2.9 percentage points, demonstrating the year-over-year gains for this group of students. TN CO Colorado used nearly $5 million in ESSER set-aside funds to launch the High-Impact Tutoring program. Students participating in the program received 235,000-plus hours of tutoring during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 school years and demonstrated growth in math, reading and engagement. ESSER OVERVIEW Between March 2020 and March 2021, Congress appropriated nearly $190 billion in three phases to support pandemic relief and recovery in K-12 schools through ESSER. States could set aside 10% of that amount for use by the state education agency (SEA). SEAs prioritized academic recovery initiatives through high-dollar investments in programs like high-impact tutoring. | ESSER DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS (BILLIONS) | | | --- | --- | |
ESSER III District,$109.8B
ESSER II District,$48.9B

ESSER I District, $11.9B
| ESSER I State, $1 . 3B
ESSER II State, $5 .4B
Learning Loss, $6.1B
After-School, $1.2B
Summer, $1.2BOther, $3.6B | LEARN MORE Report: How States Are Using Federal Relief Funding to Scale High-Impact Tutoring— More on the Covid Relief Data Project: [ccsso.org/ESSERfunds](ccsso.org/ESSERfunds) ESSER INVESTMENT TO IMPACT FACT SHEET 2024 CCSSO.

FAQs

How many states and total ESSER funds were dedicated to expanding tutoring?

The report states that 32 states dedicated more than $840 million in ESSER state set-aside funds to expand access to tutoring services.

What characteristics define an effective high-impact tutoring program?

Effective programs include three or more tutoring sessions per week, small tutoring groups (fewer than four students), targeted tutor-student relationship building, progress monitoring with formative assessments, curriculum alignment, and formal tutor support and training.

What does the ESSER overview describe about congressional funding and state use?

Between March 2020 and March 2021, Congress appropriated nearly $190 billion in phases for K–12 pandemic relief through ESSER, and states could set aside 10% for the state education agency (SEA) to prioritize academic recovery initiatives.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Kyle