Use the following questions and comments to help you evaluate potential tutors for your child.

1.  What is your educational background and experience tutoring children?

Look for a tutor who has taught students the same age as your child. The more experience the tutor has had in the specific subject area (three years minimum) the better.

2.  How will you develop a tutoring plan and methods for my child?

Good tutors consult with classroom teachers and use test results to come up with individualized plans and lessons that employ methods suitable for your child’s learning style. Ask to see the plan and sign off on it before tutoring starts. If appropriate—or if you have concerns—show the plan to your child’s teacher or teachers if they have not seen it.

3. In what way and how often will you evaluate progress?

The best tutors evaluate formally by testing and informally by observation. They provide feedback to students, parents, and teachers regularly. Feedback can be after each session, weekly, monthly, or less frequently. It can be oral, written, or both. Make sure you are comfortable wit the frequency and form of evaluation.

4. When can you meet with my child, where will you meet, and how long will the lessons be?

Make sure a potential tutor can meet with your child at a time and place that are convenient for you and your child. Be sure everyone agrees about the length and frequency of the lessons. Ask for explanations if either the suggested frequency or length don’t seem right to you.

5. What are your tutoring business policies?

You need to know all the details up front: how much the lessons will cost, what forms of payment the tutor accepts, when payment is expected, and what the cancellation policy is.

6. Can you provide some recent references?

You should expect to get three to five references (including references from students, parents, and teachers). Even with positive references, you may decide that the tutor’s teaching style does not seem to be a good match for your child. Use your intuition. You know your child better than anyone else does.