Tutoring programs slammed by pandemic's unfinished learning

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Unfinished learning caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has tutoring programs at nonprofits and businesses slammed trying to get students caught up.

And for seniors like Nasim Moody, these last couple of months have mattered most as he prepared for the SATs.

At Focused Athletics in Center City, SATs has been top of mind for Moody. The senior fell behind during virtual learning and the urgency to catch up is very real. He's taken the test four times in four months, improving each time.

"Going from going to school everyday to be on the computer all day everyday was just a very bad transition," he said.

The nonprofit has been slammed trying to get inner city high school athletes prepared to take college entrance exams.

"It's really a matter of get these scores and get into the school you want and make up for the time you lost - to no fault of their own during the pandemic," said Jackson Duncan from Focused Athletics.

It's a similar story for younger students in North Philadelphia at Take Action Tutoring.

"We were so reliant on the computer; so dependent on the computer," said Patrice Lamar-Bey from Take Action Tutoring. "So they're struggling. They're like you mean I have to spell this word by myself I can't use spell check?"

The husband and wife team tutor everyday, servicing 50-60 kids a week.

"We do it one on one and break it down in hour increments," said Charles White from Take Action Tutoring.

As seniors like Moody wait anxiously for their scores, the program's volunteer tutors race to get juniors prepared for the next year's round of testing.

But a lot of these tutors are saying these aren't isolated stories and there are many students in this situation, particularly those who were already at a socioeconomic disadvantage.