Get Students Back on Track with Mathnasium

It’s been a few weeks since the dismal 2021-2022 EQAO test results were first shared, revealing that student’s math and literacy abilities are drastically down here in Ontario.

In fact, just 47% of grade 6 students are meeting the provincial standard in math. And if we do the math, this means 53% of grade 6 students ARE NOT meeting the provincial standard.

While grade 3 students fared better with 59% meeting the provincial standard in math, that number is still concerning since 41% these students are behind and struggling.

Given the education disruptions (and disruptions in general) caused by the COVID-19 pandemic over the last 2 years, it is not really a surprise that so many children in elementary schools are behind.

• The learning loss was real and extensive, preventing fundamental learning from taking root for so many students.
• Since subjects like math build on fundamentals, not having a solid base (or any base) makes learning that much harder and the struggle much more serious.
• Without the necessary skills developed, it also makes it hard, if not impossible, for kids to thrive as they progress to older grades.

We do want to take a moment to applaud all the teachers, educators, and students for trying their very best to teach and learn throughout the pandemic. It may not feel like it, but you did make a positive impact.

How Effective is the Current Plan to Help Kids with Math & Literacy? 

There is a lot of debate on whether the current math action plan is enough to help get kids back on track in math or literacy.

While math action teams have been dispatched to schools with low scores to improve teaching practices and supports for students, they do not provide true effective individual support to students. Why? The math tutoring sessions often include students across a variety of grades with varying degrees of learning struggles. This means that teachers or educators are thinly spread across a large group of children at different grade levels with different math learning needs.

A $365-million fund providing $200 per child up to age 18 and $250 for those with special needs up to age 21, has also been made available to cover the cost of learning aides or supplies, or private tutoring. Parents do not need to formally report what the funding is used for, and it is 100% left to their discretion and decision for how to best spend these dollars. Many parents are not sure what specifically to do with this money, and how to spend it to thoroughly benefit their child.

Our professional opinion is that this plan it not enough, especially given how serious and widespread the math learning loss is. As teachers, parents, and professional math tutors, we know first-hand that when a child has real struggles in math, additional customized outside support is essential to help them catch up and keep up. Given what has transpired over the last two years, for kids with real math struggles and learning deficits in math concepts and fundamentals, the need for outside professional math help is crucial.

How Parents Can Help their Child in Math

We have spoken to so many parents and it seems that the key questions on their minds are:

1. Has my child been impacted? How can I tell?
2. How serious is my child’s math learning loss?
3. Will this loss impact them in future grades?
4. Will they be able to catch up on their own?
5. Will the extra support in the school actually help them?
6. How can I really know how they are doing in math?
7. How can I put the funding to good use to support by child? It’s not enough to cover very many tutoring sessions.

The answer to all these questions is to contact Mathnasium on Newmarket and arrange a math assessment for your child.

By using the $200/$250 funding for professional math assessment, parents will:

1. Learn what the current state of their child’s math skills are, and successfully pinpoint where their child is struggling and where they are excelling.
2. Understand how serious their child’s math skills have been impacted and if they will be able to catch up & keep up at school, or if additional outside support is needed.
3. Be armed with the information they need to make a more informed decision about any next steps needed to help their child in math.

What is also beneficial about investing in a math assessment is that this can be used to build a customized math learning plan for your child (which is what we do here at Mathnasium of Newmarket). A customized plan will ensure that the focus of math tutoring is on what concepts and skills your child needs help with most.

At Mathnasium of Newmarket, we also offer students a free trial session, so following a math assessment, your child can experience first-hand a private math tutoring session focused on their unique needs with a qualified, caring and passionate math instructor. Our staff really know how to make learning math fun. What is even more important (and amazing to watch) is that as a student’s math comprehension increases, their enthusiasm for math grows, and they develop confidence in math and their other classes.

Get Your Child Back on Track with Mathematics Tutoring at Mathnasium of Newmarket

Here at Mathnasium of Newmarket we offer real-time, face-to-face instruction either in-centre or online through Mathnasium@home.  Our method of teaching math, The Mathnasium Method™, helps students understand concepts faster and easier than a “one-size-fits-all” curriculum.

• 90% of parents said they saw an improvement in their child’s grades after attending Mathnasium.
• Multiple independent studies have also shown that Mathnasium improves student performance on standards-based math tests in 20 sessions or less.

Our customized learning plans are proven to improve grades because our expert math instructors always complete a thorough personalized math assessment to pinpoint a child’s individual math learning needs before they develop a unique roadmap for that student.

If you would like some real answers and insights into how your child is doing in math, Contact us today through our online form or call or text us at (289) 608-7762. We’d love to talk to you more about your child’s math learning, our individual math assessments, and our effective mathematics tutoring programs.