Tutoring in Boise, Idaho
Kolu is software. Nobody from Kolu will drive to your house in Boise, 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.
Two districts share Boise. The Boise School District covers most of the city, with Boise, Borah, Capital and Timberline as its large high schools. West Boise, along with Meridian, Eagle and Star, belongs to the West Ada School District, so two families a short drive apart can have different calendars and course sequences. The Boise district takes open enrollment requests for schools outside a family's attendance area. It also runs programs that draw from across the district, among them Spanish dual language schools, a Montessori program, the Treasure Valley Math and Science Center and the Dennis Technical Education Center.
State tests Boise students take
| Grade | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading and writing | ISAT | ISAT | ISAT | ISAT | ISAT | ISAT | Not tested | Not tested | ISAT | Not tested |
| Math | ISAT | ISAT | ISAT | ISAT | ISAT | ISAT | Not tested | Not tested | ISAT | Not tested |
| Science | Not tested | Not tested | ISAT Science | Not tested | Not tested | ISAT Science | Not tested | Not tested | ISAT Science | Not tested |
- ISAT (Idaho Standards Achievement Test): reading and writing, math, grades 3 through 8 and 11
- ISAT Science: science, grades 5, 8 and 11
Junior spring is crowded in Idaho. The grade 11 ISAT in English, math and science and the state-paid SAT day all land between March and May, which is also when AP exams start.
Testing dates and graduation rules for the whole state are on a separate page. Idaho guide
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 ISAT. It has no bank of released questions. It teaches the skills the test draws on, and it will not do tonight's homework.
It runs in a browser, so it works the same in Meridian, Eagle, Garden City, Kuna, Nampa and Star as it does in Boise.
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.
In Boise, ask the school first. Teachers know who tutors, and a counselor at Boise School District can tell you what the district already offers at no cost. After that, try students at Boise State University or College of Western Idaho, who 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.