Cross-age tutoring: Are adult tutors better than student tutors?

By Winnie Tam, Centre for University and School Partnership, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

A meta-analysis published in Educational Psychology Review by Chang and colleagues examined the effectiveness of cross-age tutoring in educational settings. Cross-age tutoring involves pairing an older tutor with a younger tutee at different developmental stages, with the expectation that both participants benefit. The meta-analysis analyzed 31 experimental studies (RCT or quasi-experimental design) involving 147 effect sizes of academic outcomes. Of these, 28 studies (117 effect sizes) examined the impact on tutees, while 14 studies (30 effect sizes) examined the impact on tutors. The tutors ranged from older students in grades 5 through 12 to adult tutors, including university students and community volunteers.

The researchers found that cross-age tutoring generated positive academic outcomes for both tutors and tutees, with an overall effect size of +0.34. Specifically, tutees showed significant academic improvement (ES=+0.33), while tutors also demonstrated considerable learning gains (ES=+0.39). Importantly, the analysis revealed that student tutors (ES = +0.37) were as effective as adult tutors (ES = +0.25) in improving tutees’ academic outcomes, and the intervention proved beneficial for both typically-developing students and those with learning difficulties. The positive effects were consistent across both reading and mathematics.

The findings suggest that using older students as tutors is not only feasible and cost-effective, but also academically beneficial for both tutors and tutees.