This study aimed to investigate the effects of private tutoring on academic achievement of
middle school students, and to explore the characteristics of school level variables as well as
individual level variables, which together can change the effect of private-tutoring. For this
purpose, 3-level hierarchical growth modeling to the longitudinal data was used. The results
are as following. First, the private tutoring has a strong relationship with initial achievement
of middle school student, but does not have a significant effect on the growth of achievement
during the middle school year. Second, self-regulated learning strategies has a significant
effect on individual student’s achievement, but not much effect in school level. Third, the
schools with high level of self-regulated learning partly decrease the effect of private
tutoring on student achievement. Fourth, the effect of the private education for each subject
(Korean, English, Mathematics) has not shown, except for the expences spent on
Mathematics. However, all the self-regulated strategies on students’ level have shown effect
on the achievement of three subjects and those on school level have shown partly. These
results indicate that the effect of private tutoring might only be psychological phenomenon,
and imply that self-regulated learning ? self efficacy, cognitive strategies, efforts ? should
be considered as key elements in a policy for reducement of private education.