Tutoring in Columbia, South Carolina
Kolu is software. Nobody from Kolu will drive to your house in Columbia, 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.
Three school districts divide Columbia. Richland One covers downtown and the older neighborhoods around it, Richland Two takes the northeast, and the Harbison and Irmo side falls to School District Five of Lexington and Richland Counties. Each sets its own calendar, and SC READY falls in the last 20 days of whichever calendar a student is on. All three run magnet or choice programs with their own applications. Across the Congaree River, West Columbia and Cayce belong to Lexington School District Two.
State tests Columbia students take
| Grade | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading and writing | SC READY | SC READY | SC READY | SC READY | SC READY | SC READY | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested |
| Math | SC READY | SC READY | SC READY | SC READY | SC READY | SC READY | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested |
| Science | Not tested | SC READY Science | Not tested | SC READY Science | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested |
- SC READY (South Carolina College- and Career-Ready Assessments): reading and writing, math, grades 3 through 8
- SC READY Science: science, grades 4 and 6
Under Read to Succeed, a third grader who scores Does Not Meet Expectations on the reading portion of SC READY must be retained unless a good cause exemption applies. Third grade reading is tested in the first five days of the window so that results come back in time for that decision.
Testing dates and graduation rules for the whole state are on a separate page. South Carolina 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 SC READY. 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 West Columbia, Cayce, Irmo, Lexington, Forest Acres and Blythewood as it does in Columbia.
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 Columbia, ask the school first. Teachers know who tutors, and a counselor at Richland County School District One can tell you what the district already offers at no cost. After that, try students at University of South Carolina, Benedict College, Allen University or Columbia 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.