Schools face many decisions on how to maximize instructional time and provide support for students who are at risk for failure in reading. Instructional grouping plays an important role. The authors used a true group experimental design to compare 2 grouping conditions—1:1 (1 tutor to 1 student) and 1:3 (1 tutor to 3 students)—on the reading achievement of 1st-grade students who were identified as at risk and the efficiency of delivering instruction. The results indicate that students made comparable progress and gains in reading when instructed in small groups of 3. Because the 1:3 condition uses resources more efficiently, it may be preferable to the 1:1.
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Helf et al. (2008) studied this question.