Tutoring in Rhode Island
Kolu is software. Nobody from Kolu will drive to your house in Rhode Island, 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.
Rhode Island students meet three different tests on the way through school. RICAS covers English language arts and math in grades 3 to 8, with English in late March and early April and math from late April to mid-May. Science is the Rhode Island Next Generation Science Assessment, given in grades 5, 8 and 11 during the same weeks as RICAS math. In high school the College Board takes over. Every sophomore takes the PSAT 10 and every junior takes the SAT, both at school on a school day in the March and April window. A junior therefore has the SAT and the state science test in the same spring.
What Rhode Island tests, and when
| Grade | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading and writing | RICAS | RICAS | RICAS | RICAS | RICAS | RICAS | Not tested | PSAT 10 | SAT | Not tested |
| Math | RICAS | RICAS | RICAS | RICAS | RICAS | RICAS | Not tested | PSAT 10 | SAT | Not tested |
| Science | Not tested | Not tested | RI NGSA | Not tested | Not tested | RI NGSA | Not tested | Not tested | RI NGSA | Not tested |
- RICAS (Rhode Island Comprehensive Assessment System): reading and writing, math, grades 3 through 8
- RI NGSA (Rhode Island Next Generation Science Assessment): science, grades 5, 8 and 11
- PSAT 10: reading and writing, math, grade 10
- SAT: reading and writing, math, grade 11
- Main testing window
- late March to mid-May
- Standards
- Rhode Island Core Standards
- Paid for by the state
- SAT, grade 11, on a school day
The class of 2028, this year's juniors, is the first under the Readiness-Based Graduation Requirements. They call for four math credits that include Algebra I, Geometry and Algebra II, three science credits and two credits in one world language, unless a parent agrees to an approved alternate pathway.
Is there a graduation test in Rhode Island?
No. State test scores are not a diploma requirement in Rhode Island, and graduation rests on coursework and a performance-based diploma assessment.
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 RICAS. 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.