A tutor's résumé tells you where they've been. It doesn't tell you whether your kid will be more confident at the end of the school year than at the start — and that is the whole job. The right questions, asked before you commit, get you much closer to knowing.
Questions about approach
- Walk me through your last session with a student like mine. Specifics are the tell — a real answer names the material, the sticking point, and what changed.
- What do you do when a student says 'I get it' but the homework says otherwise? Every tutor faces this weekly; the answer shows whether they teach the student or the worksheet.
- How do you handle a session where the student is exhausted or checked out? Rigid plans break on real kids.
Questions about progress
- How will we know it's working — and how soon? A serious tutor names a signal (grades, confidence, error patterns) and an honest timeline.
- How do you communicate with parents, and how often? You want a rhythm, not a report card surprise.
- What would make you tell us we no longer need you? The best tutors work toward their own exit.
The safety questions families skip
A tutor works with your child, often alone, often in your home — that makes a few questions non-negotiable, and a professional expects them: Are you comfortable with a background check? Can you share two families as references, not just students' outcomes? For in-home sessions, what is your policy on another adult being present? Discomfort with any of these is an answer in itself.
Logistics worth settling up front
- Cancellation and make-up policy, in both directions.
- Rate, session length, and whether materials time is billed.
- In-home, at a library, or online — and whether the rate changes.
If the role you're really hiring for is broader than tutoring — regular time with your kids, in your home — the questions deepen. Our guide to caregiver interview questions picks up there.