HB 1416 Compliance: See the Literacy Solution Proven to Work for Texas Students

Meet HB 1416 Requirements with Proven High-Impact Tutoring (And Multiple Funding Sources to Cover It)

Early literacy is a critical focus in Texas, with the state's education system serving a large and diverse student population. Ensuring all students, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, achieve reading proficiency is a top priority, and high-impact tutoring is proving to be a highly effective intervention.

Texas serves one of the nation’s largest and most diverse student populations, making early literacy achievement both critical and challenging. With state law requiring accelerated instruction for all students who don’t reach “approaches” or higher on STAAR assessments, districts need proven solutions.

High-impact tutoring (HIT) is delivering measurable results, and Texas has made significant investments to support implementation.

On this page, you’ll learn how to maximize state funding streams like State Compensatory Education and Accelerated Instruction requirements to implement a research-backed program that aligns with the Science of Reading—and discover how OnYourMark Education exceeds state requirements to accelerate your students' growth.

Texas: Building Momentum and Closing Gaps

Texas has invested heavily in literacy through the Texas Reading Academies, training all K–3 teachers and principals in the Science of Reading. This statewide commitment is beginning to show results, with recent improvements in elementary reading performance.

That said, significant challenges persist. NAEP results show Texas reading scores at historic lows, and just 28% of students scored proficient or better on STAAR reading assessments. Achievement gaps remain stubborn among economically disadvantaged learners, emergent bilingual students, and students with disabilities.

Why High-Impact Tutoring Works

National Research

High-impact tutoring consistently outperforms other interventions:

Students gain an average of 3-15 months of extra learning compared to traditional instruction, with the strongest results in early literacy (Nickow et al., 2020)
Greatest impact for learners furthest from opportunity—exceeding results from technology tools, peer learning, and teacher feedback (Dietrichson et al., 2017)

OnYourMark's Texas Results

A randomized controlled trial by the National Student Support Accelerator with 1,200 Texas elementary students found:

Students gained 2.5 months of reading skills in just 10 weeks
68% met or exceeded growth benchmarks vs. 42% in control groups
Struggling readers closed 58% of their gap to grade level

(Source: NSSA, "The Effects of Virtual Tutoring on Young Readers," Robinson et al., 2024)

Just exploring? Here's what to know about HIT.

Texas offers multiple funding streams to support high-impact tutoring. Here's how to access them:

State Compensatory Education (SCE)

SCE funding exists to close achievement gaps for at-risk students. If your district is required to provide accelerated instruction, you must budget enough SCE funds to support those services.

What SCE covers:

Supplemental tutoring
Professional development for tutoring staff
Instructional materials for at-risk students

Key requirement:

At least 55% of SCE funds must support programs that eliminate performance gaps.

How to use it:

Include your tutoring program in your district's Comprehensive Needs Assessment (CNA) and Campus Improvement Plan (CIP) to maintain compliance.

Accelerated Instruction (HB 1416/HB 4545)

Accelerated instruction is a mandatory academic support program designed to help students catch up in subjects where they demonstrate skill/knowledge gaps. State law requires accelerated instruction for students who don't achieve "approaches" or higher on STAAR (grades 3-8 and EOCs).

Your options:

Assign a TIA (Teacher Incentive Allotment)-designated teacher, OR
Provide supplemental high-impact tutoring

If you choose tutoring, it must include:

15-30 minimum hours (based on student performance level)
4:1 or smaller student-to-tutor ratio (unless waived)
Weekly sessions
TEKS-aligned materials
Consistent tutor assignment

Funding note: Use SCE funds to cover accelerated instruction requirements.

Ratio waiver: TEA maintains an HB 1416 Ratio Waiver List for approved programs that can exceed the 4:1 ratio when used as designed. You can access the list for the 2025-26 school year here.

Texas ACE (Afterschool Centers on Education)

Texas ACE provides afterschool and summer programming to 130,000+ students in Title I schools through federally funded grants (Title IV, Part B).

Why it matters for tutoring:

Strong focus on academic support, including high-impact tutoring
Operates across 650+ centers in 130 districts
Provides a funding pathway for afterschool and summer literacy programs

Who can apply:

Districts and community-based organizations through competitive grants administered by TEA.

Get more information about Texas ACE here →

Additional Days School Year (ADSY)

ADSY provides half-day formula funding for elementary campuses (PreK-5) that extend their calendar by up to 30 days beyond the standard 180-day year.

How it works:

Add instructional days as summer programs or intersessions
Include at least two hours of instruction by a certified teacher
Use the extended time for small-group, high-dosage tutoring that meets accelerated instruction requirements

Bottom line: ADSY gives you flexibility to expand instructional time and accelerate early literacy growth.

See more information from TEA here →

Transforming Literacy Through GLEAM Grants

Since 2020, Massachusetts DESE has leveraged federal Comprehensive Literacy State Development (CLSD) funds through its GLEAM initiative (Growing Literacy Equity Across Massachusetts). These grants empower school districts to:

Accelerate literacy outcomes for student groups with persistent achievement gaps
Implement Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) frameworks for differentiated ELA instruction
Expand evidence-based early literacy programs, including high-quality Pre-K

MTSS in Action: A data-driven framework providing tiered, linguistically appropriate support to help all students achieve grade-level proficiency.

More About GLEAM Grants

GLEAM-funded districts are required to demonstrate literacy growth through state assessments. Contact DESE via Mass Literacy for recent outcomes.
Is your district eligible? See if your district received GLEAM funds: FY25 GLEAM Grant Recipients

OnYourMark’s live virtual high-dosage tutoring model meets all GLEAM requirements for:

MTSS Tier 2 and Tier 3 literacy interventions
Progress monitoring with DESE-approved tools
DESE-approved literacy curricula

MTSS-Aligned and Research-Backed

As a trusted high-impact tutoring provider, OnYourMark Education is ready to partner with your district to support literacy interventions aligned with Texas's state-wide literacy initiatives for your students.

We provide:

Focused high-impact tutoring instruction during the school day (20 minutes per day, 4x per week)
Tutors trained in Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) and Science of Reading-aligned curricula.
Curriculum alignment: Our program is designed to complement existing classroom instruction and is built on the principles of the Science of Reading, directly supporting Texas Reading Academies' implementation.
Data-driven personalization with DIBELS® or other district-specific progress monitoring.

Our virtual and in-school delivery models are uniquely positioned to serve Texas's diverse student population, including the over 900,000 students in rural areas where access to tutors is often a challenge.

Low-Ratio Live Virtual High-Impact Tutoring

Foundational literacy instruction that fits seamlessly into the school day:

20 minutes/day, 4x/week: Short bursts of high-impact tutoring during school hours
Science of Reading-aligned: Tutors trained in foundational reading skill instruction and DIBELS® methodologies
Low-ratio precision pairing: 1 or 2 students per tutor for peer engagement + individualized support
Real-time progress monitoring: Adjusts instruction biweekly based on DIBELS® and formative assessment data

Science of Reading-Based Curriculum

Rooted in the Science of Reading, our evidence-based approach targets foundational gaps with:

Systematic, explicit instruction: Scripted lessons for phonics, decoding, and fluency
DIBELS® benchmarking: Initial diagnostics pinpoint skill gaps
Biweekly progress monitoring: Adjusts lessons every 10 sessions
Low tutor-student ratio: Ensures personalized pacing + peer engagement

Proven Growth in Classrooms Nationwide

OnYourMark-tutored students are rapidly moving to grade-level proficiency.

2024-25 data shows a 175% increase in the number of students who were at or above grade-level benchmark from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.
- This translates to a 21-percentage point increase in the number of students reading at or above grade level, moving from 12% to 33%.

Across the full year of tutoring, 54% of students met or exceeded their growth expectations, with a third of all students achieving "above" or "well above average" growth.*
- For students in the spring-only program, this number was even higher, at 64%.

*"Above average growth" = exceeding typical student progress for their grade level.

High-Quality Early Literacy Tutors

Your students deserve the highest quality tutors available. And your teachers deserve a real instructional partner. That’s why we take a thoughtful and intentional approach to hiring and training our tutors: to make sure that your students and staff get the best.

OnYourMark tutors receive 60+ minutes of professional development (either asynchronous instruction or ongoing coaching from our subject matter experts) and 30 minutes of individualized coaching every week. This is in addition to the initial 24 hours of training before tutors begin working with students.

Our tutors demonstrate a commitment to our mission to ensure that the students we serve learn to read by 3rd grade and are genuinely excited to work with their students each day.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"I love working with children and helping them reach their highest potential in learning. It is rewarding to see them learn new skills and experience success. I look forward to each session."
-Darlene Catabia
OnYourMark Tutor

Read about our rigorous vetting and training process on our tutor page.

OnYourMark Education: Research-Backed Methodology

A randomized controlled trial (RCT) conducted by the National Student Support Accelerator (NSSA) at Stanford University in SY2022-23 found that OnYourMark’s live virtual tutoring method works.

Kindergartners’ improvements in letter sound mastery were 13.4% higher than the control group, amounting to 24 additional days of school

First graders’ improvements in decoding were 28.4% higher than the control group, amounting to 51 additional days of school

Our impact is greatest on students who started furthest behind benchmark. Read the NSSA study for the full story.

A Scalable and Affordable HIT Model

High-impact tutoring from OnYourMark is accessible through multiple local funding sources, including State Compensatory Education (SCE), Title I / III, and Afterschool Centers on Education (Texas ACE) grants. That means there are lots of funding options to ensure your students get all of the benefits of OnYourMark’s evidence-based approach.

What’s more, as a live virtual tutoring provider, OnYourMark’s solution fits within your current technology resources. And OnYourMark offers both 1:1 and 1:2 tutor-to-student tutoring models at different price points. Schools select the model that works best for their needs and their budget.

And because we are a non-profit organization under Cambiar Education, we work with our partner schools and districts to find funding sources to ease the financial burden of high-impact tutoring.

slider_FirstLine Schools Data - web

slider_Lincoln Parish data - web

21.7% Of students exceeded expected growth
More than 1 in 2 students saw average, above, or well-above average growth

Average attendance rate of 87% for tutored students
3 Of every 5 students saw average, above, or well-above average growth

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About OnYourMark

Learning to read is at the heart of education, but only one-third of students in the U.S. read at grade level. Being able to read on grade level by 3rd grade is a strong predictor of future student success. Research proves a link between failure to reach this milestone and higher rates of high school dropout, severely limiting opportunities for success.

OnYourMark Education exists to close the literacy gap for students by building foundational literacy skills to help all students become strong readers. We partner with schools to strengthen their existing literacy instruction for Tier 2 and Tier 3 students by providing high-dosage virtual literacy tutoring to students during the school day. Our skilled tutors deliver personalized and engaging Science of Reading-based curriculum while building relationships that help developing readers succeed.

"OnYourMark is very strategic about activities to build relationships. And, it was so quick too! I was just amazed at how quickly the kids really connected to the tutors. You might think that it is harder to connect virtually, but for OnYourMark, it's not. They're just so mindful of the engagement and the relationships with students."

Lincoln

Dana Talley

Former Chief Academic Officer for Lincoln Parish

“We did a randomized controlled trial with OnYourMark and saw significant growth. For [other literacy programs], we did not get the best measurements for what we wanted to get out of it. And so OnYourMark is probably the single unqualified success of all of our tutoring programs.”

uplift

Nick Erber

Former Director of Acceleration for Uplift Education

"We had so many kids moving up different levels because now they’re able to sound out the words, they’re able to read the words… Again and that's why we’re using OnYourMark with our K-2 students: because of the quick turnarounds and the quick wins that you see.”

freedom

Dr. Hope Walker

Former Regional Director of Academic Acceleration for Freedom Prep

“OnYourMark has been a critical partner for us to support our struggling readers. The tutoring sessions are highly engaging and student data consistently reflects accelerated growth towards grade level benchmark. We look forward to continuing this partnership in the years to come."

Sabrina Pence

CEO of FirstLine Schools