Tutoring in Provo, Utah
Kolu is software. Nobody from Kolu will drive to your house in Provo, 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.
Provo City School District runs the public schools here, with two comprehensive high schools, Provo High and Timpview. The district line follows the city line. Orem, directly north, belongs to a different district, so a move across that boundary changes schools even though the two cities run together, and Springville and Spanish Fork to the south are in Nebo School District. Provo offers dual language immersion in some of its elementary schools. Brigham Young University is in the city and Utah Valley University is next door in Orem.
State tests Provo students take
| Grade | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading and writing | RISE | RISE | RISE | RISE | RISE | RISE | Not tested | Not tested | ACT | Not tested |
| Math | RISE | RISE | RISE | RISE | RISE | RISE | Not tested | Not tested | ACT | Not tested |
| Science | Not tested | RISE Science | RISE Science | RISE Science | RISE Science | RISE Science | Not tested | Not tested | ACT | Not tested |
- RISE (Readiness, Improvement, Success, Empowerment): reading and writing, math, grades 3 through 8
- RISE Science: science, grades 4 through 8
- ACT: reading and writing, math, science, grade 11
The first course-based RISE tests in grades 9 and 10 are in spring 2027, and the high school window closes May 14, two weeks before the grade 7 and 8 window. A ninth grader in an advanced math class takes the test for that class, not a grade 9 test.
Testing dates and graduation rules for the whole state are on a separate page. Utah 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 RISE. 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 Orem, Springville, Spanish Fork, Lindon and Mapleton as it does in Provo.
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 Provo, ask the school first. Teachers know who tutors, and a counselor at Provo City School District can tell you what the district already offers at no cost. After that, try students at Brigham Young University or Utah Valley University, 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.