on an emotional level we believe this will incentivize our mentors to identify with the TEST Program’s mission. TEST also offers economic incentives of $15.00 USD an hour with reimbursement for travel miles and training.

observe in person and/or record tutoring sessions to ensure compliance with TEST’s goals and to ensure a consistency among the tutors and assistance received by the enrolled students. An optional release would need to be signed by the guardian of an enrolled student which would allow them to be featured in promotional materials.

year of college, with special attention being paid to students who meet our target demographics or who have previously graduated from our target district. Utilizing multiple job recruitment platforms such as Monster, Linkedin, Glassdoor, and Craigslist we will maximize our search for qualified personnel.

Tutor recruitment will be broken down into two major qualifications. First, non-cognitive qualifications such as prior graduation from our at-risk districts or representation of our target demographics are considered equally important in a TEST tutor as cognitive qualifications for the program. As noted in Eric Digest, “a tutor need not be an excellent student, especially in the case of cross-age tutoring. A sixth grader operating at a fourth grade level can be an excellent helper of a second grader who is also operating below grade level.” Other general categories that will be assessed include: appeal to younger students as a mentor, interpersonal skills, character, community recommendation, and commitment to the role of a tutor.

Cognitive qualifications will be assessed by the prospective tutors’ comprehension of TEST’s written protocols, rubrics, and curriculum; mentors must also demonstrate adequate academic performance and history. Aspen Tree trains prospective mentors so they are equipped to conduct weekly tutoring sessions. Over the period of five days and guided by our curriculum developer, pid tutor training will take place prior to mentors being paired with students.

on an emotional level we believe this will incentivize our mentors to identify with the TEST Program’s mission. TEST also offers economic incentives of $15.00 USD an hour with reimbursement for travel miles and training.

award is two to three years. Our current budget supports 100 students for each year the TEST Program is in operation, serving a total of 200 to 300 students. In the event that demand outpaces resources, TEST will estimate the operational costs of serving a single students and make those services available at a nominal charge.

the TEST Program. Additionally, there will be screening interviews with multiple program personnel, background checks, and references which will be verified with transcripts.

technology without losing the role of mentorship. TEST would also represent the first federally funded study of its kind.

In a recent publication of The Economist, two Stanford professors, Sebastian Thrun and Andrew Ng, offered courses free of charge online (The Economist) 25 June, “Re-Educating Rita,” Page 10. By the time the course had begun, Thurn’s “Introduction to Artificial Intelligence” had 160,000 participants from over 190 different countries. Ng’s course on “Machine Learning” had 100,000 students enrolled. Both courses ran ten weeks and of the total participants who enrolled only 36,000 completed the semester.

TEST aims to address the massive disparities in online enrollment by holding students accountable, keeping them engaged, and introducing the role of an in-person mentor while facilitating digitally synchronous tutoring.

will be traceable online. In the event a theft occurs the tablet will be traced to the owner and the authorities will be notified.

Parents will sign an agreement on behalf of their students (minors) to be responsible for the tablet. They will be encouraged (or required) to maintain renter’s insurance that would cover the tablet in the event of theft. There must be some acknowledgment that loss of tablets will inevitably occur and will be factored into program costs. The tablet will have software where it can be remotely locked, thereby reducing the intent to steal or not return one of the tablets.

Where a student loses or breaks a tablet, they are provided one replacement, then if it happens again (due to something within one’s control), it will be up to the discretion of TEST to provide another tablet or excuse the student from the program. Selling or hocking a tablet is immediate grounds for dismissal from the program and the parent will be fully liable for the financial cost to replace the tablet.

2) Disparity in graduation rates of economically disadvantaged students as compared to their counterparts, 3) Disproportionate population of struggling, at-risk, and economically disadvantaged students attending South Mountain and Cesar Chavez high schools, 4) The unsuccessful nature of the asynchronous (online) digital tutoring approach and, 5) The need for further research on the successes of synchronous (in-person) digital tutoring.

TEST will be beneficial to our target community while further expanding on current research by proposing the following demonstrable Solutions: 1) Synchronous (in-person) digital tutoring, 2) Incentivizing education with a reward-based program, 3) Accessible (in-home) tutoring and tutor mobility, 4) Individualized learning within a supplementary education service, and 5) Applying Critical Thinking and Rigorous Learning (CTRL) based curriculum.

Applying these solutions will result in five demonstrable predicted Outcomes for our students. 1) Increased on-time grade promotion among 9th grade TEST students moving into their sophomore year. 2) Improved Grade Point Average and academic standing among TEST students, 3) Measurable increase in four-year high school graduation rates among TEST students, 4) Demonstrable improvement in student self-efficacy, attitudes toward education and learning, as well as plans for future college enrollment, 5) Increased performance on Arizona State testing on AIMS, AzMerit, and national college entrance exams.

by enlisting help from a third-party evaluations team. TEST will record detailed statistics which will document the progression of the program (treatment) against the results found by a control group. We will introduce both pre and post testing to measure each students’ participation in the the TEST program to show results.

economic disadvantage and demographics– this being for research purposes related to the grant funding. Students who will receive TEST tutoring will currently be enrolled in reduced lunch prices and show other signs of at-risk status for dropping out of high school or failing to meet on-time grade promotion. Students who will not get TEST tutoring will most likely be in a control group for the purpose of validating our research findings, but may still meet the TEST qualifications listed above. All other students not included in the TEST program most likely did not meet the qualifications of the intervention, or applied after the program reached capacity.

the student has successfully completed the curriculum.

Cultural sensitivity can be accomplished by ensuring and encouraging diversity among TEST personnel, mentors, tutors and students. Fairness will be ensured by random monitoring as well as post-program TEST surveys by the tutors, students, and parents.