Press Release

12 November 2025 | Baltimore, MD – The Partnership for Student Success (PSS) today announced the publication of a new report, Are K-12 Students Getting the Evidence-Based Supports They Need? Progress and Challenges Four Years After the Pandemic. The report, authored by Dr. Robert Balfanz and Vaughan Byrnes of the Everyone Graduates Center at the Johns Hopkins University School of Education, analyzes findings from a third annual nationally representative survey of K-12 public school principals, fielded by the RAND Corporation in partnership with PSS, to examine the deployment of evidence-based student supports and evolving student need.

The report concludes that four years after the height of the pandemic, there is widespread use of evidence-based and people-powered student supports–such as high-intensity tutoring, mentoring, student success coaching, postsecondary transition coaching, and wraparound supports–in public schools across the United States. But, public school principals indicate that continued growth in these interventions is needed to meet the scale of student needs.

Key findings from the report include:

• High-intensity tutoring, mentoring, and wraparound supports are each provided in about half of the nation’s K-12 public schools, and in about two-thirds of high-poverty schools, with most schools offering these services providing them to 20% or fewer of their students.
• Over the past three school years, an estimated 400,000 additional adults have stepped up to support K-12 students in public schools as tutors, mentors, postsecondary advisors, and wraparound support providers.
• Four years after the height of the pandemic, public school principals report no let-up in student need with 30% to 40% reporting an increase in the number of students needing high-intensity tutoring, mentoring, or wraparound supports.

The report emphasizes that while implementation barriers exist to expanding evidence-based programs, there is a subset of schools that are proving that serving students at scale is possible, and outlines a range of resources and opportunities to support expansion of high-quality programs.

To learn more, read the full report on the Partnership for Student Success’ website or register for a webinar on the report’s key findings on Thursday, December 4th at 3:00pm ET.

###

About the Partnership for Student Success: Based at the Everyone Graduates Center at the Johns Hopkins University School of Education, the Partnership for Student Success is a national coalition dedicated to expanding evidence-based and people-powered student supports for all K-12 students in the United States, with a particular focus on high-impact tutoring, mentoring, student success coaching, postsecondary transition coaching and wraparound/integrated student supports.

Contact: Kate Cochran kcochr17@jhu.edu

Reference to any non-U.S. government organization, event or product does not constitute an endorsement, recommendation or favoring of that organization, event or product and is strictly for the information and convenience of the public.

This website is developed and maintained by the Everyone Graduates Center at Johns Hopkins University for the National Partnership for Student Success.
It follows the website privacy policy found here. View the website’s accessibility statement here.