by Ivan Johnson, Middle School Program Head

A close friend who is not an educator sent me an article yesterday from The Wall Street Journal, titled “Parents Who Hire Elite Tutors Are Setting Up Their Kids for Failure.”

You can read the PDF of it through this link—it’s a quick read. The main takeaway is clear: yes, hiring tutors to do our kids’ work for them sets them up for failure. I could give this article to any teacher, and they would all say the same thing: “No duh.”

I firmly believe in the value of one-on-one intervention. When a skilled teacher can spend focused time with a student, it creates opportunities to fill gaps in understanding, support a student’s growth, and help them excel in areas where they have a deep interest or passion. This kind of intervention not only helps students thrive academically but also builds their confidence and fosters independent success.

In a small school like Friends School, these one-on-one opportunities often arise naturally due to the manageable student load our teachers have. Smaller class sizes foster meaningful connections, ensuring that students’ academic needs are met while allowing teachers to engage fully and authentically in their work. However, the ultimate goal of this individualized support is not merely to boost grades but to nurture genuine growth. The difference between true support for growth and simply chasing higher grades lies in one critical element: the structure of grading systems, particularly the use of cumulative points.

As long as students view learning as a gamified point system, the temptation to “win” the game of school through shortcuts—like hiring tutors or using AI to do the work—remains strong. What might initially seem like a moral impossibility can quickly become reality when parents see their children “losing” compared to peers. In an effort to give their child a “fair shot,” even the most principled parents may end up making decisions they never thought they would.

When evaluating a school, I urge parents to look beyond the polished slogans and carefully crafted messaging. A school might boast about inclusivity, social and emotional care, academic excellence, or well-rounded students. But, if, at the end of the day, growth and learning are reduced to a series of cumulative points, then those promises are empty. If the true measure of success is a number on a grade report, then the system is built for compliance, not curiosity—for competition, not real growth.

Let’s not be surprised when parents resort to hiring expensive tutors to do their child’s work for them, ultimately robbing their kids of genuine learning. After all, if the game of education is set up as a point-scoring contest, it was never really about growth and learning in the first place.

In just two and a half weeks, our students will participate in student-led conferences. This is a vulnerable moment for students, teachers, and families alike—but there won’t be any points associated with it. Students will feel a healthy pressure, not because of an external reward but because what they are learning matters to them. Their growth matters to them, to their teachers, and to their parents.