How we measure impact
We'd rather show a small honest number than a big invented one. Here's how we think about impact — and what we will and won't publish.
Where are the numbers? Mass Tutoring is early, and we haven't yet collected a full term of verified data. Rather than fill this page with illustrative figures, we're showing our commitments below. Real numbers will appear here once we've collected them, each with a clear definition and time period.
We separate four different things
A lot of organizations blur these together. We keep them apart on purpose:
- Activity — what we did (tutoring requests received, students matched, sessions completed, workshops run).
- Engagement — how people used the site (study plans created, tasks completed, returning visits). Useful, but not the same as helping someone.
- Outcomes — whether students are better off (increased confidence, completing a practice test, understanding weak areas, voluntarily reported score changes).
- Equity — who we reach (students self-identifying financial need, students from partner public schools, languages served, accessibility support requested).
A page view is not a "student helped." A tutoring-page visit is not a request. A completed session is not a score increase. We won't present them as if they were.
Our rules for any number on this site
- Show only real, verified figures — never illustrative placeholders.
- Show the reporting period and define what the number means.
- For anything survey-based, show the sample size and response rate, and label it self-reported.
- Never imply causation ("we raised scores") from correlation.
- Small real numbers are fine. A completed pilot of a dozen students, measured honestly, is worth more than a vague "thousands helped."
What an honest metric will look like
—
Tutoring sessions completed
reporting period will be shown here
When there's data to share
Once a term of tutoring has run, this page will carry a short activity snapshot and, where we've collected it responsibly, engagement and self-reported outcome data — plus an annual report that includes what didn't work, not just what did. Until then, this page stays honest about being early.