Around the Institute

Experience Corps

January 19, 2011  • Education Innovation Forum and Expo

To support LEAs in better meeting the early reading development of high-need students, Experience Corps and its affiliates have implemented evidence-based programs in partnership with schools for the past fifteen years. Experience Corps affiliates utilize one or both of two intervention models to serve these students: 1) in-classroom tutoring, working with small groups of students; or 2) one-to-one tutoring for students most in need of assistance. Each approach has been rigorously evaluated by an independent research team and has shown positive effects.Experience Corps is poised to bring the two tested models together in a standardized context, combining in-classroom, small group tutoring with intensive one-to-one tutoring for those students most in need of help. The innovations we propose in the next generation of our model have been validated by two rigorous experimental research studies conducted by Washington University and Johns Hopkins University. The Department of Education’s What Works Clearinghouse recognized the Washington University study as “consistent with What Works Clearinghouse evidence standards” and “a well-implemented randomized controlled trial.” The study shows that the Experience Corps program improves reading comprehension and sounding out new words skills by 60%. It concludes that the program works for any student, regardless of race, gender or geography.

To learn more, contact Amy Zandarski-Pica.