Tutoring in Portland, Oregon
Kolu is software. Nobody from Kolu will drive to your house in Portland, 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.
Portland Public Schools is the largest district in the city, and it is one of several. Much of east Portland falls in David Douglas, Parkrose, Reynolds or Centennial, each with its own schools and calendar. Inside Portland Public Schools a student is assigned a neighborhood school by address. A lottery handles requests for focus option schools and other transfers, and there is a petition process for a family with a specific reason to move. Benson Polytechnic High School draws students from across the district. Dual language programs run from prekindergarten through grade 12.
State tests Portland students take
| Grade | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading and writing | OSAS | OSAS | OSAS | OSAS | OSAS | OSAS | Not tested | Not tested | OSAS | Not tested |
| Math | OSAS | OSAS | OSAS | OSAS | OSAS | OSAS | Not tested | Not tested | OSAS | Not tested |
| Science | Not tested | Not tested | OSAS Science | Not tested | Not tested | OSAS Science | Not tested | Not tested | OSAS Science | Not tested |
- OSAS (Oregon Statewide Assessment System): reading and writing, math, grades 3 through 8 and 11
- OSAS Science: science, grades 5, 8 and 11
The essential skills graduation requirement is paused, not repealed. The suspension runs through the 2027-28 school year, so families of current middle schoolers should check what the State Board of Education decides for later classes.
Testing dates and graduation rules for the whole state are on a separate page. Oregon 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 OSAS. 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 Beaverton, Gresham, Lake Oswego, Milwaukie, Tigard and Vancouver, Washington as it does in Portland.
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 Portland, ask the school first. Teachers know who tutors, and a counselor at Portland Public Schools can tell you what the district already offers at no cost. After that, try students at Portland State University, Reed College, University of Portland or Portland Community College, 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.