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WHEN DOES MY CHILD NEED MATH HELP?

Have you ever heard an adult say "I was never any good at math!" or "I don’t like math"? While many grown ups make light of their own poor math skills, very few are as quick to proclaim “I read poorly” or “I don’t write well”. Because low math literacy is common, poor math skills do not carry the same social stigma as deficiencies in other academic studies. On the other hand, mastery of higher level math is essential for getting a higher paying job in today’s technology driven economy. As such, kids who do well in math generally make more money over the course of their careers than those who don’t.

That being said, every parent wants their child to have the best math education possible, regardless of their own personal comfort level with math. Unfortunately, many students begin their struggles with math as early as first grade, often resulting in low self-esteem. If they are not taught math in a way that makes sense to them quickly, they may fall so far behind that catching up becomes increasingly more challenging. On the other hand, some students pick up math principles easily in the early grades, yet encounter difficulty as the subject matter becomes more complex. This may be hard for parents to recognize, as the report cards from school may still indicate passing, or even high grades.
So, what should a parent look for to see if their kid is up to speed? For early Elementary School children, look for one or more of the following warning signs:

• They have trouble learning their 10's addition facts (such as 3 + 7 = 10 or 2 + 8 = 10), no matter how much you drill
• They have great difficulty learning their doubles facts, such as 8 + 8 = 16
• They can't count backwards accurately
• They forget their math facts easily
• They habitually use their fingers to count

If your child performs poorly in the 3rd or 4th grade, then you can be sure that some fundamental math operations need to be mastered. Before things get worse, now is the time to make sure that these fundamentals become second nature for your student.

In Middle School, math problems are sometimes more difficult to immediately recognize. Students at this age have already learned to make excuses, blame teachers, or hide math shortcomings. In large part, this is a defense mechanism against disturbingly low self-esteem, and supplemental math tutoring may be necessary to reverse the problem:

• Your kids say they "hate math" or are "dumb" in math
• They get poor grades
• They lack motivation and even refuse to do their math
• They are ashamed and do not want to get outside tutoring
• They feel increasingly anxious about upcoming math tests

High School students present a whole new set of challenges when it comes to math. Far too often, students are promoted to High School, even though they had noticeable and significant mathematical deficiencies in Middle School. And far too often, parents fail to see the warning signs earlier. While these deficiencies should have been detected and corrected much earlier, the student now faces a High School curriculum requiring the successful completion of Algebra and Geometry. Unfortunately, waiting until High School to get supplemental math help greatly diminishes the student’s chances for success. The problem is not always just the complexities of Algebra or Geometry, but rather a basic lack of comprehension regarding multiplication, division, fractions or ratios. Is it too late? Hopefully, it’s not. Mathnasium can certainly teach math basics to students of any age. However, our system teaches math to small groups of kids just a couple of times a week, which may not be intensive enough for a failing High School student. If your child is seriously in danger of failing High School math, then you may need to consider more expensive and time intensive private tutoring.

So, how can you tell if your High School student is missing large chunks of core math skills, or simply needing clarification on more complicated techniques? How can you be sure if a younger child is actually behind in math, or simply bored with the material being taught in class? How can you know if your child needs outside help in math? We can answer these questions at Mathnasium of Suwanee with a one hour assessment of your child’s strengths and weaknesses. If, for example, your child is in sixth grade, we won’t simply ask math questions based on the sixth grade level. Instead, we will examine the full scope of your child’s mathematical development. This allows us to put together a customized learning course for your child based on his or her specific understanding of all core concepts. After this assessment, even if you choose not to enroll at Mathnasium, you will at least have a clear understanding of your child’s total math comprehension.

Without question, the most important way to prevent math problems in school is to fix the problems at the beginning, which means getting help in the earliest grade possible. Making sure early Elementary students have a solid foundation in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division is clearly the key to understanding the more complicated twists later found in Elementary and Middle School. And it goes without saying, Algebra and Geometry in High School can not be understood if the student does not have a firm grasp of these core math principles.

But regardless of your student’s current school grade or math level, we would strongly recommend coming by our Suwanee Center for a complete assessment. Afterwards, we can discuss exactly where your child stands regarding grade level math proficiency. We can also advise you if more intensive instruction is needed to bring your child up to grade level. If your child displays any of the math warning signs outlined above, or has had any classroom or report card issues, please get the expert help you need immediately!

We specialize in teaching math in a way that kids understand.

Make an appointment today for your child’s immediate math assessment.

770-271-2424