Tutorial Voucher Initiative

An independent evaluation of the pilot Tutorial Voucher Initiative was conducted by Erebus International.  The evaluation examined the impact of the pilot on student reading development; and the effectiveness of the pilot as a means of assisting children.

The evaluation found that providing one-to-one tuition is an effective way to improve students reading skills.  It also found that the majority of students that received tuition improved their reading scores, with most of them improving their reading age by around 12 months.

Key findings of the report showed that:

• 87.7% of parents who responded to the parent/caregiver survey were satisfied or very satisfied with the pilot overall;
  
  
• over 80% of responding parents felt their child had improved in reading and enjoyed reading.  85% felt their child had increased their confidence in reading; and
  
  
• 69% of responding tutors felt most or all of the students had improved in reading.

Executive Summary of the Report on the Evaluation of the Pilot Tutorial Voucher Initiative (19 pages):
PDF    (140.6 KB)  |  RTF    (1.1 MB)

The Report on the Evaluation of the Pilot Tutorial Voucher Initiative (95 pages):
PDF    (787.7 KB)  |  RTF    (3.3 MB)

The Case Studies Supplement to the Report on the Evaluation of the Pilot Tutorial Voucher Initiative (87 pages):
PDF    (518.3 KB)  |  RTF    (882.5 KB)

The Australian Government offered additional reading assistance in 2006 for those eligible children in Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia who did not receive assistance under the pilot Tutorial Voucher Initiative.  This reading assistance was delivered to eligible students during the 2006 school year.

The pilot Tutorial Voucher Initiative was an innovative and practical pilot programme designed to assist parents/caregivers who had been advised by the relevant educational authority that their child was below the Year 3 national reading benchmark in 2003.  Assistance under the Initiative was delivered in 2005 to some 6,200 students across Australia.

These students were eligible to receive a tutorial voucher valued at up to $700 exclusive of GST.  The tutorial voucher provided for a pre- and post-tuition assessment, and a number of hours of reading tuition delivered on a one-to-one basis outside school hours.

The pilot Initiative was administered by brokers who facilitated the provision of tutorial assistance by way of contracting tutors, confirming child eligibility, providing parents/caregivers with choice of tutors and managing the administration of the Initiative.

The then Minister for Education, Science and Training, Ms Julie Bishop MP, announced the Reading Assistance Voucher programme in May 2006.  The programme, which will operate throughout Australia during the 2007 school year, is part of the Australian Government’s commitment to improving the literacy standards of all Australian children.