Frequently Asked Questions

No, your child does not need to have a diagnosis of dyslexia, dysgraphia or a specific learning disability in reading and writing before starting with Kids Up Reading Tutors. Only about half of the students we work with have a diagnosis. Many families choose to try tutoring before getting their child tested. Tutoring usually solves the problem. Book your free 30-minute call and demo to learn more.

Yes! About half of the kids we work with at Kids Up Reading Tutors don't have a dyslexia diagnosis. Often, they just didn't get as much good reading instruction as they needed - many times because of COVID. The Science of Reading methods we use work for all kids and teens, regardless of why they're struggling with reading and spelling. Book your free 30-minute call and demo - let's talk about your child.

Whenever you discover that your child is struggling with reading or spelling, that's the best time to start with Kids Up Reading Tutors! We work with students in grades 1-12, plus some college students. Surprisingly, high schoolers often get caught up more quickly than elementary school kids. Let's talk about your child or teen; book your free 30-minute call and demo.

Kids Up Reading Tutors recommends 3–4 sessions per week for most students. This frequency helps your child build reading and spelling skills quickly without feeling overwhelmed. Our goal at Kids Up Reading Tutors is fast progress and graduation, not years of slow-moving tutoring. Two sessions/week is enough to get some students caught up in a reasonable amount of time. And some students work with us 5 times/week over the summer, to get caught up by the start of the new school year. We're flexible. Book your free 30-minute call and demo, and let's talk about your student.

All of the tutors at Kids Up Reading Tutors are fully-trained in the Science of Reading and Orton-Gillingham. In addition, our Senior Tutors have years of experience as classroom or Special Ed teachers, or as school reading specialists. Kids Up Reading Tutors ensures your child gets evidence-based instruction that works. Check out our Testimonials and Google reviews, then book your free 30-minute call and demo.

When you work with Kids Up Reading Tutors, you’ll always be in the loop: Students track skills they’ve learned on their Progress Chart (you'll have a copy at home) Your child’s tutors will send you weekly updates You can sit in on a session any time, or listen from the next room

Most students at Kids Up Reading Tutors work with their tutor 3-4 times per week and catch up in 4-9 months. Spelling takes longer than reading, so goals matter - tell us yours and we’ll guide you. Book your free 30-minute call and demo, and let's talk about your student and your goals!

Yes, at Kids Up Reading Tutors, we'll match your child with a tutor based on their needs and personality, any special requests you might have and your schedule. Most of our students form strong bonds with their tutor and stay with the same tutor until they "graduate." Occasionally students switch and work with a different tutor - usually because a new sports season has started up and they need a different schedule. All of our tutors have the same training and use the same materials, to make it easy to switch to a different tutor.

No, Kids Up Reading Tutors generally do not assign homework. Many of our students are already pretty overwhelmed by school. If that describes your student, you might want to talk to your child's teacher - they'll generally waive the "30 minutes of reading every night" requirement when students are doing tutoring. If your child wants more, we can suggest: Audiobooks to build vocabulary, grammar, background knowledge, etc. Fun extras like phonological games Once reading becomes easy, your child will start picking up books on their own - no “homework” required. :-) Book your free 30-minute call and demo to learn more.

Kids Up Reading Tutor offers Our Zoom Guarantee for families who are wondering whether Zoom will work for their child. Try it out for a week. Love it, or it's on us. Simply try the lessons for a week. If you're not thrilled and decide to stop, we won't charge you for the week of lessons.

You'll start seeing progress remarkably soon after your first sessions with Kids Up Reading Tutors. We often hear from astonished parents within 2-3 weeks that they're already starting to see an improvement in their child's reading. Of course, the more frequently you do the tutoring, the more quickly you'll see progress. Most students who do the tutoring 3-4 times per week will get caught up in reading in 4-9 months. Spelling generally takes longer.

Absolutely. As your child progresses in the Kids Up Reading Tutors program, their school reading test scores will increase. Phonological/phonemic and phonics subscores will likely increase first, followed by nonsense words, word reading, words correct per minute, reading fluency and ultimately reading comprehension. Note that because school test scores compare a student to their peers, younger students' scores will increase more quickly than older students' scores.