Success for All Tutoring is a research-proven literacy tutoring model designed specifically for below-level students in grades 1-8. The program offers two levels: “Tutoring with the Lightning Squad” for grades 1-3 and “Tutoring with ThemeReads” for grades 4-8, catering to the specific needs of different age groups.
Students work cooperatively in pairs, guided and monitored by their tutors, as they advance through activities to develop reading skills. Each 30-minute session allows tutors to effectively support up to six students, maximizing instructional time. With user-friendly software and comprehensive guides, tutors have the necessary tools to facilitate engaging sessions. Individualized reports track and display student progress at the student, class, and school levels, allowing for informed decision-making. At-home activities complement in-class learning and promote collaboration between students and parents.
Success for All provides extensive training and support for school-based tutors, ensuring they are well prepared to deliver effective instruction. The programs currently operate at 301 sites and serve 7,762 students.
What Makes This Model Innovative?
Rigorous Learning
High Expectations with Unlimited Opportunities
Connection & Community
Related Models
Ignite! Reading
Ignite! Reading provides a one-on-one virtual high-dosage tutoring program grounded in the science of reading that teaches every student the foundational skills they need to become an independent, confident reader.
Ignite! Reading
Ignite! Reading’s mission is to ensure that every student learns to read on time. Informed by the science of reading, Ignite delivers a one-on-one virtual tutoring program focused on teaching students foundational reading skills. Ignite tutors complete a 120+ hour certification program to become master reading instructors and pair with students all over the country to help them crack the code to become lifelong readers.
The model is designed to minimize the burden placed on teachers so that it can be easily and sustainably implemented during the school day and begin having an impact immediately. Curriculum-embedded diagnostic tools help determine where students fall on the continuum of learning to read before targeted one-on-one instruction begins. The ultimate goal of the Ignite! Reading model is to help students successfully build the foundational literacy skills necessary for them to become independent readers. Ignite! Reading Program Overview
Once Early-Reading
The Once model teaches school support staff to implement high-dosage, one-on-one tutoring based in the science of reading, so that kindergarteners learn how to read fluently and independently.
Once Early-Reading
Once has developed a high-dosage, one-on-one reading-tutoring program for kindergarten students that is rooted in the science of reading and does not require certified teachers to implement. Existing school support staff are trained to deliver scripted reading lessons that explicitly and systematically introduce letter-sound correspondences and give students the opportunity to apply those when reading authentic, decodable texts. Students also practice deliberate writing activities related to the sounds they are learning each session. Each lesson is video recorded, so that the school staff member can receive feedback from a Once coach to continuously improve their tutoring instruction.
Once offers various supports to schools interested in implementing their model, from free resources to a deeper partnership.
Goals
Success for All Tutoring targets reading skills rooted in the science of reading.
Letter Sounds and Phonemic Awareness
Students learn the sounds associated with individual letters or groups of letters and develop the awareness of phonemes. They recognize and manipulate sounds, blend sounds together to form words, and segment words into individual sounds.
Decoding and Word Recognition
Students use letter-sound relationships to accurately read and pronounce words. They learn systematic and explicit strategies for decoding unfamiliar words, recognize common spelling patterns, and apply phonics rules to improve word recognition skills.
Fluency
Students read with accuracy, appropriate speed, and prosody (expression and phrasing). They develop automaticity to read words effortlessly and smoothly and improve reading rate, expression, and comprehension.
Clarifying
Students learn to identify difficulties in comprehension and employ strategies such as rereading, questioning, and seeking clarification to enhance their understanding of the text.
Advanced Comprehension
Students analyze text structures, make inferences, draw conclusions, evaluate author’s purpose and perspective, and synthesize information from multiple sources. They develop the ability to engage with complex texts and extract meaning beyond the literal level.
Experience
The leveled tutoring programs offered by Success for All, Lightning Squad and ThemeReads, aim to empower students in grades 1-8 by fostering their confidence, motivation, and reading skills through a cooperative learning approach. Both programs prioritize achievable goals and celebrate progress to create a supportive learning environment.
Cooperative learning is at the heart of these tutoring programs, and students actively engage in peer partnerships. Working in pairs, students participate in activities designed to enhance their reading skills. Partners earn points for completing activities, and their progress is contingent on both students’ success. This approach ensures that both individuals in a partnership have equal opportunities for achievement within the program. In order to advance to the next level, both students in the pair must demonstrate mastery of the skills they are working on, promoting collaboration and mutual support.
To cultivate positive and productive partner interactions, students are made aware of and encouraged to meet certain expectations. Two key goals are emphasized: being a focused reader and attentive coach, and helping and encouraging each other. Students learn the roles of the Reader and Coach prior to using the tutoring software, allowing them to effectively support their partners. The software prompts students when their roles change, providing ample practice opportunities. As students wait for their turn, they learn to pay attention and listen attentively to their partners, keeping track of their progress. Additionally, being a good partner involves offering encouragement and assistance without giving away answers, instead reminding partners of tools and strategies they can use to find solutions on their own. Tutors provide clear positive feedback when students exhibit these desired behaviors, reinforcing the principles of cooperative learning.
In Lightning Squad, for students in grades 1-3, tutors coach students and analyze progress to ensure students are advancing at an accelerated pace to be at or above grade level. Students work in pairs to improve phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension through interactive, partner-supported games that accumulate points as they play. Activities are designed to build on each other, and the final two activities, Word Quest and Story Quest, include a story based on the skills they’ve mastered in the four previous activities. Students complete all six activities for their selected story during one 30-minute session. Activities should be completed in order and become available once the previous one is mastered. Tutors are signaled with a checkered flag if a student is struggling and provide direct support to ensure they achieve mastery before moving forward. If a student does not master an activity, the student repeats the unmastered activity until mastered. Mastery for most activities is 80%, and after they’ve mastered the activities for a story, they complete a Tutor Check where the tutor assesses their progress and determines if they have mastered the story. If they have, they can celebrate by cashing in their points for rewards like videos and games. If not, they repeat the lesson during their next tutoring session. Tutoring with the Lightning Squad Tutoring with the Lightning Squad User’s Guide
The story activities include:
- Power Reader: Partners take turns practicing fluent reading before reading for a fluency score based on words correct per minute (wcpm). Students read a story from a previous lesson for familiarity as a warm-up for fluency before they progress to more difficult activities with new stories. Mastery of the activity is when both students meet the grade-level wcpm goal for the story. WCPM is measured within the program, and students know whether they’ve met their goal at the end of the activity.
- Letter Launch and Letter Quest: In Letter Launch, the first partner gives the sounds for ten phonemes as the other partner coaches them, then they switch roles. In Letter Quest, the first partner selects the letters that represent 10 phonemes as the other partner coaches them. Letter Launch and Letter Quest activities alternate; Letter Quest displays on odd number days and Letter Launch displays on even number days.
- Word Blender: The first partner reads ten words as the other partner coaches them, then they switch roles.
- Super Speller: Each player spells seven words as the other partner coaches them, switching roles after all seven words are spelled.
- Word Quest: Partners practice vocabulary words and demonstrate mastery by correctly completing cloze sentences, a technique where words are deleted from sentences and students choose the correct word. Mastery for Word Quest for all stories is based on a cloze activity. Cloze Reading
- Story Quest: Partners show what they’ve learned by reading the story and answering comprehension questions. Partners will earn a point for each question they answer correctly on the first try. If a team answers all questions correctly, they will earn five bonus points.
In ThemeReads, for students in grades 4-8, activities are designed to improve overall fluency by concentrating on building vocabulary and comprehension. Skills addressed throughout the activities are the author’s purpose, cause and effect, compare and contrast, drawing conclusions, fact and opinion, main idea, problem and solution, and sequencing. ThemeReads consists of six levels with 72 passages in each level. Each topic has activities associated with it for students to complete and accumulate points. After they’ve mastered the activities for a passage, they complete a Tutor Check where the tutor assesses their progress and determines if they have mastered the topic. If they have, they can celebrate by using their points to watch a fun video. Tutoring with ThemeReads Tutoring with ThemeReads User’s Guide
The passage activities include:
- Wonder Words: Partners practice vocabulary words and demonstrate mastery by correctly completing cloze sentences. Mastery for Wonder Words for all topics is based on scoring 80% on a cloze activity. Cloze Reading
- Reader Meter: Partners take turns practicing fluent reading before reading for a fluency score based on wcpm. Mastery of the activity is when both students meet the grade-level wcpm goal for the topic.
- Idea Quest: Partners show what they have learned by reading the passage and answering comprehension questions. The Idea Quest button only becomes available after they have mastered the other two activities.
Supporting Structures
Success for All Tutoring can be brought into a school’s existing overall model with a few shifts in daily scheduling.
The Success for All Tutoring platform includes curriculum and assessments to determine student skill level and groupings.
Students are selected for the tutoring program based on their academic performance and individual needs. The platform includes curriculum content along with tutor checks and beginning- and end-of-program assessments to determine student placement. The scope and sequence of the tutoring program builds core literacy skills so that students are able to reenter their regular literacy class; however, it may not directly align to the content happening within regular classes as it’s designed to practice skills.
Tutors conduct assessments to gather additional information about each student, ensuring that they are provided with appropriate materials and activities that match their skill level. This assessment data is utilized to determine students’ story levels and to form student partnerships. This process is repeated at the beginning of each quarter to ensure that students receive continuous support and appropriate allocation of resources.
Throughout the course of the tutoring program, tutors use the built-in data tracking system to monitor student progress on an individual, paired, or group basis. Tutors have a dashboard that is color coded and can quickly look to see how their students are doing.
Tutors must create an environment and culture that fosters cooperative learning in the tutoring classroom.
To cultivate a collaborative tutoring classroom, three key principles are vital: team recognition, individual accountability, and equal opportunities for success. The tutoring classroom should be quietly buzzing with cooperative student work. Students should be actively listening and encouraging their partners as they work through activities. Teams should celebrate when they meet goals and master activities. Tutors can provide students with cheers and rewards from the Celebration Station.
Success for All Tutoring requires a small tutor to student ratio, as well as a dedicated program coordinator.
The program coordinator is designated from the school site to serve as the primary contact and oversee the tutors. Tutors can be teachers, paraprofessionals, parents, or volunteers, depending on state requirements and available school resources. The number of tutors hired for the tutoring program depends on the school’s budget and student need. The program coordinator and tutors receive one day-long training led by a dedicated Success for All coach to learn the platform, program, and responsibilities of the role. Tutors also receive four in-person visits from the same SFA coach during the year and can seek virtual assistance as needed.
Each tutor supports 6 students (3 partnerships) per 30-minute session. Priority is given to students with the highest need, while others can join when new spots become available, either with additional tutors or as students reenter regular classes. Tutors use the administrative section of the platform to manage the program and are able to reach out to the SFA help center if they need technical support.
While in the classroom, tutors are responsible for looking for evidence of reading skills and student coaching by listening to partner conversations and student thinking. Tutors provide Tutor Checks for each student at the end of the tutoring session to assess mastery and record the information in the platform. Individual students’ answers and progress reports are recorded and scored within the tutoring software. Reports are accessed by tutors and teachers and shared with parents. While there is no recommended frequency for data review between tutors and teachers, scheduling at a regular cadence is encouraged. In addition, during quarterly SFA coach visits, coaches, teachers, and tutors review the data together to ensure students are making progress and having their individual needs met.
Tutoring sessions should be scheduled daily in 30-minute time slots throughout the day, prioritizing students with the largest skill gaps first.
At the beginning of each grading period, the program coordinator and facilitator create the tutoring schedule. Each tutoring class can serve up to six students in 30-minute time slots. Individual schedules are created for each tutor, preferably during reading class. Students, tutors, and time slots are matched, starting with the students showing the largest skill gaps in reading and taking into account schedule conflicts and travel distance. A backup list is created for students who couldn’t be assigned to tutoring, to be considered in future revisions. The schedule is distributed to tutors, homeroom teachers, reading teachers, and the front office to facilitate student location during tutoring sessions. At the end of each quarter, teachers and tutors determine if students need to continue with tutoring or if they should reenter their regular class.
Progress reports and at-home learning programs are shared with families to keep them informed and engaged.
Families are informed about the students’ progress through the Student Progress Reports, which can be shared with parents at any time. To support at-home learning, students and families can use the short video programs aligned to the tutoring themes called Home Links. The programs allow students to showcase their progress and provide parents and caregivers with insight into their child’s schoolwork. The videos are 5-6 minutes each and can fit into students’ evening schedules, alongside other homework tasks, typically once or twice per week.
The model strongly recommends a designated tutoring space for focused partner work.
A Success for All Tutoring room should be a separate room where student pairs can work in designated areas of the room to stay focused on their partner activities without distraction of other pairs. Tutors should consider hanging posters that remind students of the cooperative learning strategies they will use as they work through the activities with their partners. For example, active listening, helping and encouraging each other, explaining their ideas, and more.
Computers and a stable internet connection are required to run Success for All Tutoring.
To facilitate the sessions, a minimum of three computers are required in the classroom, ensuring that each pair of students has access to one computer. Tutoring programs are conducted using an HTML5-compatible web browser and stable internet.
The Success for All Tutoring platform includes curriculum and assessments to determine student skill level and groupings.
Students are selected for the tutoring program based on their academic performance and individual needs. The platform includes curriculum content along with tutor checks and beginning- and end-of-program assessments to determine student placement. The scope and sequence of the tutoring program builds core literacy skills so that students are able to reenter their regular literacy class; however, it may not directly align to the content happening within regular classes as it’s designed to practice skills.
Tutors conduct assessments to gather additional information about each student, ensuring that they are provided with appropriate materials and activities that match their skill level. This assessment data is utilized to determine students’ story levels and to form student partnerships. This process is repeated at the beginning of each quarter to ensure that students receive continuous support and appropriate allocation of resources.
Throughout the course of the tutoring program, tutors use the built-in data tracking system to monitor student progress on an individual, paired, or group basis. Tutors have a dashboard that is color coded and can quickly look to see how their students are doing.
Tutors must create an environment and culture that fosters cooperative learning in the tutoring classroom.
To cultivate a collaborative tutoring classroom, three key principles are vital: team recognition, individual accountability, and equal opportunities for success. The tutoring classroom should be quietly buzzing with cooperative student work. Students should be actively listening and encouraging their partners as they work through activities. Teams should celebrate when they meet goals and master activities. Tutors can provide students with cheers and rewards from the Celebration Station.
Success for All Tutoring requires a small tutor to student ratio, as well as a dedicated program coordinator.
The program coordinator is designated from the school site to serve as the primary contact and oversee the tutors. Tutors can be teachers, paraprofessionals, parents, or volunteers, depending on state requirements and available school resources. The number of tutors hired for the tutoring program depends on the school’s budget and student need. The program coordinator and tutors receive one day-long training led by a dedicated Success for All coach to learn the platform, program, and responsibilities of the role. Tutors also receive four in-person visits from the same SFA coach during the year and can seek virtual assistance as needed.
Each tutor supports 6 students (3 partnerships) per 30-minute session. Priority is given to students with the highest need, while others can join when new spots become available, either with additional tutors or as students reenter regular classes. Tutors use the administrative section of the platform to manage the program and are able to reach out to the SFA help center if they need technical support.
While in the classroom, tutors are responsible for looking for evidence of reading skills and student coaching by listening to partner conversations and student thinking. Tutors provide Tutor Checks for each student at the end of the tutoring session to assess mastery and record the information in the platform. Individual students’ answers and progress reports are recorded and scored within the tutoring software. Reports are accessed by tutors and teachers and shared with parents. While there is no recommended frequency for data review between tutors and teachers, scheduling at a regular cadence is encouraged. In addition, during quarterly SFA coach visits, coaches, teachers, and tutors review the data together to ensure students are making progress and having their individual needs met.
Tutoring sessions should be scheduled daily in 30-minute time slots throughout the day, prioritizing students with the largest skill gaps first.
At the beginning of each grading period, the program coordinator and facilitator create the tutoring schedule. Each tutoring class can serve up to six students in 30-minute time slots. Individual schedules are created for each tutor, preferably during reading class. Students, tutors, and time slots are matched, starting with the students showing the largest skill gaps in reading and taking into account schedule conflicts and travel distance. A backup list is created for students who couldn’t be assigned to tutoring, to be considered in future revisions. The schedule is distributed to tutors, homeroom teachers, reading teachers, and the front office to facilitate student location during tutoring sessions. At the end of each quarter, teachers and tutors determine if students need to continue with tutoring or if they should reenter their regular class.
Progress reports and at-home learning programs are shared with families to keep them informed and engaged.
Families are informed about the students’ progress through the Student Progress Reports, which can be shared with parents at any time. To support at-home learning, students and families can use the short video programs aligned to the tutoring themes called Home Links. The programs allow students to showcase their progress and provide parents and caregivers with insight into their child’s schoolwork. The videos are 5-6 minutes each and can fit into students’ evening schedules, alongside other homework tasks, typically once or twice per week.
The model strongly recommends a designated tutoring space for focused partner work.
A Success for All Tutoring room should be a separate room where student pairs can work in designated areas of the room to stay focused on their partner activities without distraction of other pairs. Tutors should consider hanging posters that remind students of the cooperative learning strategies they will use as they work through the activities with their partners. For example, active listening, helping and encouraging each other, explaining their ideas, and more.
Computers and a stable internet connection are required to run Success for All Tutoring.
To facilitate the sessions, a minimum of three computers are required in the classroom, ensuring that each pair of students has access to one computer. Tutoring programs are conducted using an HTML5-compatible web browser and stable internet.
Supports Offered
Success for All offers the following supports to help you implement their approach.
Partnership
Cost Associated
Success for All Tutoring comes with software, training, and implementation support. Coaches provide tutors with one full day of initial training, either in-person or online, as well as ongoing support throughout the year.
Reach
Impact
The Success for All Tutoring Program has had a significant impact on student achievement, with participating students making substantial gains in reading scores.
Students using Success for All Tutoring programs significantly outperformed students in numerous randomized control studies.
- One study found that students who participated in at least 25 sessions of Lightning Squad showed statistically significant and educationally meaningful increases in passage comprehension and work attack using the Woodcock reading mastery test compared to a control group. An Evaluation of Lightning Squad
- In one quasi-experimental study, student pairs using ThemeReads (formerly QuickReads) for 72 sessions significantly outperformed students in the control group in vocabulary, word comprehension, and passage comprehension. Benefits of Repeated Reading Intervention