"Nothing We've Tried Has Worked"

By Laura Lurns · Reviewed by Philip Weaver · Last reviewed 2026-10-04

Some children gain less from help

Many children get better with well-designed extra help in reading. Some do not. Researchers have asked which children, and what to change.

Who gains least from extra help

One review pooled 30 studies of early reading help (Nelson, Benner and Gonzalez, 2003). It looked at what predicted which children gained. The list included sound and letter skills, and naming speed. It also included behavior problems, memory and IQ. A disability label, ethnicity and grade did not predict who gained. We could read only that review's summary.

Another team studied poor readers who were given tutoring (Vellutino, Scanlon and Lyon, 2000). IQ scores did not tell the easy-to-help readers from the hard-to-help ones. We could read only its summary. The two findings point different ways on IQ.

Another review looked at 14 experiments on early reading help (Lam and McMaster, 2014). Early reading skills consistently predicted which children gained. These included reading words, letter sounds, fluency and hearing the sounds in words. Vocabulary, language and background generally did not. We could read only its summary.

One study followed 104 children through early reading help (Al Otaiba and Fuchs, 2006). Several things together predicted which children did not respond. They included naming speed, vocabulary, behavior problems and how much help a child got. We could read only its summary.

That study and Lam and McMaster's review disagree on vocabulary.

Across these studies, the children who gained least tended to start furthest behind. They were furthest behind on the skills reading is built from.

These are findings about groups of children. They are not a checklist for one child.

What researchers say to change

In our experience, a stuck child has usually had more of the same, not something different.

One article names seven ways to make help more intense (Fuchs, Fuchs and Malone, 2017). More time is only one of them. Others include a closer fit to the child's gaps, and support for behavior. Another is fitting the help to the child, checked against their progress. That is a list of ideas, not a trial. We could read only a short description of it.

One review pooled 14 studies of help adjusted to each child's progress (Jung and colleagues, 2018). Help adjusted this way improved results "across academic areas". We could read only its summary.

Most of the studies on this page are about reading. The review by Jung and colleagues also covered other school subjects.

Is more time the answer?

One trial gave more reading help to first graders who had gained little (Wanzek and Vaughn, 2008). It compared a single amount, a double amount and no further help. The double amount did about as well as the single amount. More children who got help made faster progress than children who got none. It was one trial. We could read only its summary.

In our view, ask what will be different, not just how much more.

What to ask for next

We cannot tell you how it will go for your child.

To us, little gain from one method does not mean a child cannot learn.

Little change, even with steady practice and good teaching, is a reason to ask for help.

In our view, the first step is usually to work out what is hard. The exception is a skill that was there and has gone. Our position is that a lost skill goes to a doctor first, not a tutor.

When to ask for help

Each of these is a reason to ask for help on its own.

• Little change, even with steady practice and good teaching.
• Schoolwork well below what school expects.
• A teacher who raises a concern about learning.
• Extreme upset about schoolwork.
• Complete avoidance of school or learning.
• Hopelessness about learning.
• Sadness or worry that lasts.
• Significant delays in speech, language or motor development.
• A skill that was there and has gone. Our position is that a lost skill goes to a doctor first, not a tutor.

If no skill has gone, start with the teacher. Say what you are seeing at home, and what you have tried. Beyond the teacher, the right person depends on what it turns out to be about. If the work is too hard, someone who works on that school skill. If worry or mood is the thing, someone who works with children's mental health. In our view, delays in speech, language or movement are worth raising with your child's doctor. In our view, if you are worried enough to ask, a professional evaluation is worth asking about.

Any talk of hurting themselves is a same-day call to your doctor or a crisis line.