Tutoring in Providence, Rhode Island
Kolu is software. Nobody from Kolu will drive to your house in Providence, 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.
The Providence Public School District went back to local control on July 1, 2026, ending a state intervention that began in 2019. Classical High School is its one school with an entrance exam, and only city residents can apply. Eighth graders sit the High School Placement Test and a nonverbal reasoning test in October. An admissions committee then reads those scores next to seventh-grade transcripts, attendance and a recommendation from the sending school. Students in grades 3 to 8 take RICAS in the spring, and high schoolers take the PSAT 10 and the SAT at school.
State tests Providence students take
| 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
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.
Testing dates and graduation rules for the whole state are on a separate page. Rhode Island 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 RICAS. 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 Cranston, Pawtucket, East Providence, North Providence and Johnston as it does in Providence.
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 Providence, ask the school first. Teachers know who tutors, and a counselor at Providence Public School District can tell you what the district already offers at no cost. After that, try students at Brown University, Providence College, Rhode Island College or Rhode Island School of Design, 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.