Tutoring in California
Kolu is software. Nobody from Kolu will drive to your house in California, and we have no office there. If you want a person, this page says how we would look for one. If the question is which skill is missing, we can help with that part.
California tests English language arts and math every spring in grades 3 to 8 and again in grade 11, using the Smarter Balanced tests that sit under the CAASPP name. Science is separate. The California Science Test, CAST, comes in grades 5 and 8 and once more in high school, in whichever of grades 10, 11 or 12 the school schedules it. There are no end-of-course exams, and the state does not pay for the SAT or ACT. Each district picks its own dates inside the state window, so two neighboring districts can test weeks apart. The grade 11 results also go to the California State University system, which reads them as one sign of readiness for college-level English and math.
What California tests, and when
| Grade | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading and writing | Smarter Balanced | Smarter Balanced | Smarter Balanced | Smarter Balanced | Smarter Balanced | Smarter Balanced | Not tested | Not tested | Smarter Balanced | Not tested |
| Math | Smarter Balanced | Smarter Balanced | Smarter Balanced | Smarter Balanced | Smarter Balanced | Smarter Balanced | Not tested | Not tested | Smarter Balanced | Not tested |
| Science | Not tested | Not tested | CAST | Not tested | Not tested | CAST | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested |
- Smarter Balanced (Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments, part of CAASPP): reading and writing, math, grades 3 through 8 and 11
- CAST (California Science Test): science, grades 5 and 8
- Main testing window
- March to early June in most districts, on dates each district sets
- Standards
- California Common Core State Standards and California Next Generation Science Standards
The University of California and California State University admit only students who finished 15 specific year-long college-prep courses, known as A-G, with a C or better. The state's minimum diploma does not require all of them, so a student can graduate on time and still be ineligible.
Is there a graduation test in California?
No. California ended its high school exit exam (CAHSEE), and a diploma depends on completing the courses the state and the local district require.
Kolu finds the missing skill and goes back to it
It starts with a skill check, a short test that gets harder or easier depending on the last answer. The result is a map of the subject broken into skills with their prerequisites drawn in, each one marked as solid, still being learned, or a gap.
After that, each session is a handful of activities picked for that student, usually something due for review, a gap to repair and one new skill. When an answer is wrong, Kolu looks at which earlier skill the mistake points to and goes back to it. Here is what that looks like for a sixth grader who can't divide fractions.
The problem on the page
3/4 ÷ 2/5
Dividing fractions
Grade 6
Multiplying fractions
Grade 5 · rests on the one below
Equivalent fractions
Grade 4 · usually where it started
Multiplication facts
Grade 3
Kolu does not call a skill mastered after one right answer. That takes correct work on different kinds of problems on different days, and a skill that fades gets brought back.
Kolu is not test prep for Smarter Balanced. It has no bank of released questions. It teaches the skills the test draws on, and it will not do tonight's homework.
When to hire a person instead
Some students need a person, and software is the wrong purchase for them. That includes a child who shuts down when the work gets hard, a student with a learning disability who needs someone trained in it, and anyone with an exam in ten days.
Ask the school first. Teachers know who tutors, and a counselor can tell you what the district already offers at no cost. A nearby college is the next place to look, since students there took these courses recently and usually charge less than an agency.
Whoever you hire, ask one question before the first session: how will you find out what my child doesn't know? If the answer is that they will go over the homework, keep looking.
Free for one subject, $15 a month for 5
Kolu is free for one subject at a time, with one full skill check every 30 days and up to 4 sessions a day. Plus is $15 a month, or $120 for a year, and covers 5 subjects at once with unlimited skill checks. A learner under 13 needs a parent or guardian to set up the account.