Survey: Parents Look to Schools for Student Tutoring

BLAIRSVILLE, Pa., Oct. 16 /PRNewswire/ — A new survey shows that only 9 percent of parents would be willing to spend more than $700 to raise their child’s grades and test scores by 10 percent. The survey, commissioned by Apangea Learning through Zoomerang MarketTools, asked 309 parents of students ages 11-17 (grades 5 through 11) their opinions about available tutoring options. The survey also showed that 44 percent of parents would be willing to spend between $500 and $700 for those results. Thirty-four percent were unwilling to spend anything, with many indicating that school taxes should provide the appropriate achievement results. Eighty-four percent of parents surveyed do not have their children tutored, although 67 percent are somewhat to very interested in tutoring. These results indicate that without tutoring offered through schools, most students will not receive it, even if they need it.

“Parents opt for public school education because it’s affordable, they pay taxes to support it, and public education has been shown to be a successful model,” Louis Piconi, Apangea Learning CEO, said. “But many parents are facing the realities of student difficulties as mid-term grades come in. If students can benefit from additional tutoring usually reserved for well-to-do families – and many can through the public schools – then those students should absolutely receive it.”

Fifty-seven percent of respondents said they would pick the option of free tutoring if given the choice between that or transferring to another school. Under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), struggling students in failing schools are eligible to receive free tutoring administered through the school. And yet, recent statistics from the U.S. Department of Education indicate that only 17 percent of students eligible for this kind of tutoring are actually receiving it.

   More survey highlights:    – 69 percent believe that all students, not just those who are failing,     can benefit from online tutoring   – 54 percent were relatively certain their schools offered a tutoring     program, but most had trouble describing the program   – 56 percent believe one-on-one tutoring costs to be between $16 and $45     per hour   

Apangea Learning’s SmartHelp, available to all schools for a price of just $1-2 per tutoring hour, fits very well into NCLB-initiatives aimed to improve achievement. SmartHelp is the only system with an artificial intelligence engine providing support to students until the moment they are in need of a live tutor – at which point SmartHelp makes available a live certified teacher over the Internet. The system can be used anytime; live tutors are available 8 a.m. – 9 p.m. Monday – Friday and 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturday. The SmartHelp model is being proven in schools across the country, with more than 25,000 students using it and with implementations in major cities like Chicago, Miami, New York City and Philadelphia.

About Apangea Learning

Apangea Learning is setting a new standard in the way students learn, enabling students to dramatically improve achievement, at the most cost- effective price. Apangea Learning provides differentiated instruction for every student via a unique integration of artificial intelligence and live one-on-one human tutors. Apangea Learning’s solutions, including its groundbreaking SmartHelp, are based on one of the world’s largest bodies of cognitive research and utilize innovative Web-based technology that engages students and teaches fundamental problem-solving skills. Visit Apangea Learning on the Web at http://www.apangealearning.com/.

Apangea Learning

CONTACT: Jennifer Bannan of Zer0 to 5ive, +1-412-580-3675, for ApangeaLearning

Web site: http://www.apangealearning.com/