We are working on two papers — one of the benefits to PERC students and the other to TAS students on state mandated tests that determine eligibility to CUNY senior colleges. Roughly TAS are 2-3 times more likely to be “college ready” than comparable counterparts and PERC students are twice as likely to pass required state tests. These are big numbers. We know/believe there are other impacts but have been focusing on collecting data to compare groups of students.

It is partly a question of capacity. I would say that we don’t know if middle performing and high performing students are different in terms of teaching/tutoring skills. But I would flip it — we usually think that only outstanding performing students can tutor/teach! What we are seeing and showing is that middle performing students can excel when they are entrusted with teaching. Then it is a question of capacity — schools have many more middle performing students than high performing. The bottom line is that middle performing students can in fact learn to teach and lead! And be very effective as teachers.

In terms of number of TAS, we work primarily in small schools in NYC 600-1000 students, 9-12. In a school of 600 students about half will be TAS — and there is very little selectivity.

Intriguing. On the question of middle performing vs. high performing students, it occurs to me that those in the middle range have more experience with struggling with a concept — and that might help them as teachers. With faculty members it sometimes seems that the very, very bright don’t have much empathy for students who struggle. Important caveat: I have absolutely NO data to support this. I just offer it as food for thought – and perhaps to get others to weigh in!

Ben, we completely agree and think this is one of those beliefs that haven’t been tested. We think that we are demonstrating that middle students CAN tutor and teach with guidance. We certainly have anecdotal evidence of the valedictorian failing as a tutor but the struggling student being an extraordinary TAS. We would like to show to all those who believe that only the best students can teach/tutor that the middle is a big group of students to be tapped. Whether they are better than higher performing students — no idea! Might actually be some uncorrelated or leaning towards the middle performing side.

Fascinating idea to test!

Excellent questions Jackie — I’m similarly interested in those logistical issues.

I also know that in my town, many motivated high school students have trouble finding time for all the courses they want to take. Has it been an issue for the TAS students to find time for their participation in the program? Do they get compensated at all?

The singlest biggest challenge for a school is scheduling or programming the teachers and TAS. This is the deal-breaker hurdle. Some schools have specific missions that require many additional electives and just can’t fit the program into their schedule. Here’s the model: 10th graders are programmed into two courses — a TAS courses and a PERC course. The TAS course may count as science or math elective credit. In many schools the TAS don’t take geometry in 10th grade but take it in the summer or the 11th grade. Since most TAS are middle performing we know that they are unlikely to succeed in geometry. We find the students do better in geometry once they have performed at the “college level” in 9th grade algebra and so the slow down supports student performance in the long run. The biggest hurdle for schools is accepting that there is no reason to keep students on the math track to pre-calc when they aren’t succeeding. For students who figure it out and what to get through more math, students work with College Now (one of our partners) to take college courses at CUNY.