A Four-Week Review That Shows Whether Tutoring Is Working

Why 'he's doing better' tells you nothing

Your son has had a Primary 5 maths tutor since September, at $350 an hour. Every month you ask how it is going and get the same answer. Then the December exam comes back and the score has not moved. Nothing in those monthly updates was a lie; there was simply nothing in them.

'Doing better' is a feeling, not evidence. The Education Bureau's assessment-for-learning resources describe the fix used in classrooms: use assessment information to understand learning progress and difficulties, then set the next learning objective. The same loop works at home, but it needs three things a vague update never has — a piece of the child's own work, one named skill, and a decision.

The EDB also asks parents to keep school staff informed of progress and events affecting learning. The one-page note you write each month can be photocopied for the class teacher; it takes two minutes and makes you look organised rather than anxious. The HKEAA's reference for parents of DSE candidates encourages active interest and communication, on one condition: every work sample must be the student's own, honest, independent work.

The four-week cycle: one skill, three samples, one decision

Week 1: agree one skill goal with the tutor. Not 'improve maths' but 'sets out fraction-to-decimal conversion with all steps shown'. Then collect a baseline sample — a marked worksheet or test — and photograph it.

Week 2: lessons run as normal; keep one piece of that week's homework or classwork. Week 3: a mid-point check that needs no meeting. Message the tutor: 'Could you send a photo of one question she got right this week that she couldn't do in week 1?' Week 4: hold the fifteen-minute review using the progress note below, then decide — continue, adjust the goal, or change tutors.

One skill goal sounds slow, because the tutor stops racing through the syllabus. What you get back is evidence. And fifteen minutes a month is cheap insurance against losing a whole term to a vague feeling that everything is fine.

• Week 1: set one skill goal and photograph a baseline sample
• Week 2: keep one work sample from the week
• Week 3: WhatsApp check — ask for one 'couldn't do before, can do now' example
• Week 4: fifteen-minute review, then one decision

The one-page progress note and the 15-minute agenda

One page is enough. Fields: date, subject, level; this month's skill goal in one sentence; evidence — two work samples, one from the start of the month and one from the end, stapled or photographed behind the page; what improved, pointing at specific questions; what is still stuck; and the next action — who does what, by when.

Run the meeting to time. Two minutes: look at the two samples side by side. Five minutes: how much of the goal was achieved. Three minutes: what got in the way — a heavy school test week, a tired child, missed lessons. Three minutes: agree the next action and write down who owns it. Final two minutes: confirm next lesson times and fees.

Fees are agreed directly between you and the tutor, and HKTutorPro charges parents and students nothing, so confirming next month's arrangement at the end of the review is a natural closing, not an awkward negotiation.

Letting your child speak — and the warning signs

The review should not be adults only. Primary 1–3: skip analysis; ask 'what is one thing you learned this month?' and let the child choose their proudest piece of work as a sample. Primary 4–6: ask the child to pick one question and explain to you how to do it — a clear explanation is the real evidence of learning. Secondary 1–3: let them rate themselves out of five and choose next month's goal; a goal they picked is a goal they will work for. Secondary 4–6: they track their own past-paper scores and error types, and you ask questions rather than take over. The HKEAA's parent reference stresses honest, independent work — that applies at every level, not just before the DSE.

Some things should not wait for next month's review: the tutor never produces work samples, only promises them; the same goal has run for three months with no change in the samples; two school exams in a row show no movement; your child starts inventing reasons to skip lessons; or the tutor reschedules constantly, or suggests you complete the child's homework — which directly contradicts the independent work the HKEAA asks parents to protect.

• No work samples, only excuses
• Same goal for three months, no change in samples
• No movement across two school exams
• Child resists lessons
• Frequent rescheduling, or offers to do the homework for the child

Changing tutors, or stopping, without drama

With a record in hand, the conversation is easier. To change tutors: 'Ms Chan, thank you for the months you've put in. We've been doing a monthly review, but the scores and the work samples haven't shown the progress we hoped for, so we'd like to try a different approach. After the last lesson this month, could you help us tidy up the progress note so the next tutor can pick up from there?'

To pause or stop entirely: 'We'd like her to follow her school work on her own for a while, so we're stopping tutoring for now. While you taught her, she genuinely improved in (name the skill) — thank you.' Both versions acknowledge what the tutor did and give a concrete reason instead of fading out with unanswered messages.

Practically, HKTutorPro is free for parents and students and fees are settled directly with the tutor, so there are no platform procedures to unwind — the change is a conversation. One more thing to remember: qualifications tutors display on the platform are self-reported and not verified by HKTutorPro. Before you commit to anyone new, ask to see certificates yourself, and ask the class teacher how your child has been doing recently. Cross-check the two, and your decision stands on its own.