Evaluation of the Youth Tutoring Youth Program, Summer 1972. Research and Development Report, Volume 6, Number 10

The Youth Tutoring Youth program, funded under Title I of the 1965 Elementary Secondary Education Act, was directed toward attitude and ability change of underachieving high school and elementary school pupils. It also attempted to effect a change in basic language study skills of these students by using the Youth Tutoring Youth (YTY) model which is currently being implemented extensively throughout the United States. Basic to the YTY model is the employment (for financial remuneration) of underachieving high school pupils in the capacity of tutors to underachieving elementary school pupils. Early reports of the National Commission of Resources for Youth, Incorporated (the national coordinating agency for YTY) indicated that both the tutor and the tutee gained valuable reading skills as a result of experience with the YTY program, noting that some tutors have gained as much as three years in reading skills over a period of one semester. More importantly, however, it is the feeling of having helped another student that seems to prove most beneficial. Owing in large part to a short project interval, few positive data changes were noted among the participants. For this reason, in addition to other more intuitive reasons, it is suggested that this project be lengthened, with the preservice training beginning perhaps as early as the spring quarter of the regular school year. (Author/JM)