For centuries, in folklore up to modern cinema, the notion of predicting the future has been a focal point
of fascination. Colloquialisms such as having “a crystal ball” have worked their way into our dialect.
Business is conducted around the concept itself…mystics read palms and use tarot cards (the merits of
these practices are for another blog), while childrens’ toys such as Ouija boards and magic 8-balls have
been sold for decades.
The most frequent, common, and (said somewhat tongue-in-cheek) successful attempts to predict the
future come from meteorologists. Weather forecasts are not based on guesswork, intuition, or what
“feels” right; software is utilized to analyze thousands of instances in which current measurements of
several variables are compared to similar instances in the past. Based on that data, the scenario with
the highest probability of recurrence based on years of collected data emerges; that scenario is then
translated into English, chopped into bite-sized pieces, and delivered to us through our medium of
choice.
Success in school, particularly in math, follows a similar pattern. As there is a degree of truth in the
cliché, “history repeats itself,” the following is a tale of two students. The students are fictional, but the
outcomes are very real, as they have happened many times over in the past, and will continue as we
begin this school year.
Matthew was able to finish 4th grade with average math grades. Math is not his favorite subject; as he
moved into 3rd and 4th grade it became increasingly more difficult for him, and was the subject he had to
work the hardest at to maintain his grades. He is self-aware, and while he has good grades in his other
subjects, he doesn’t feel as good as he used to about school as a whole. He resented missing recess one
or two days a week to work with his teacher’s “lunch group,” though he was quietly grateful for the
extra help.
Matthew is now 4 weeks into 5th grade and is struggling in math. His teacher believes in “pushing” kids,
but has not learned enough about Matthew to understand he’s struggling, nor has he spoken with his 4th
grade teacher about the help he received. This compounds Matthew’s issues, and he is frustrated to the
point where he is going home complaining, willing to admit his struggle to his parents in an attempt to
get help.
His parents answer by hiring a tutor. A neighbor’s daughter is a freshman at the local community
college and plans to go into education. She was always an honor roll student and a member of National
Honor Society in high school. She has also known Matthew for years and he is very comfortable around
her.
Matthew and his tutor work through his homework on a daily basis. His homework is completed
correctly for the first time this school year, and his confidence is slowly starting to return. Matthew’s
parents feel good that he’s achieving success again and feel the affirmation that they have made the
right choice for their son.
Until test time.
Matthew only had one quiz and one unit test before his tutor was hired; the grades on both shocked
him and worried his parents. After four solid weeks of working with his tutor, his test grades have only
marginally improved, regardless of his homework. Unfortunately, his homework grades only comprise a
small percentage of his overall grade, and with a week left in the quarter, Matthew’s parents won’t see
a return on their investment, either in his level of confidence or on his report card.
Natalie is in Matthew’s class. Natalie’s issues began halfway through second grade. Painfully shy, she
used coping mechanisms and relied on her friends and neighbors as she didn’t want to admit she lost
the ability to read the whiteboard. It took several months afterward for Natalie’s parents to realize she
needed glasses…a reality Natalie dreaded. Due to this, Natalie missed a great deal of whole-group
instruction on key numerical fluency concepts, and has struggled with math ever since. When Natalie
comes to her parents for help with her homework, they discover she is unable to answer a subtraction
problem such as 17-9 mentally, nor does she have the skill set to solve the problem on paper.
Natalie’s parents take her to Mathnasium. Natalie is given an assessment that fully outlines her skill
gaps in subtraction and several other areas. Natalie’s parents are aware math is foundational and that
the classroom expectation is her skill gaps in subtraction and other areas were to have been mastered
long before now, but are still concerned with her current classwork. They learn about the Mathnasium
Hour, where Natalie will spend the majority of her time building her foundation, but also getting the 1-
on-1 help she needs to complete her homework when she goes home.
Natalie’s homework gradually becomes easier; she’s no longer asking for help at Mathnasium. She has
become independent and successful in math for the first time in years. She continues to work through
her customized learning plan resolving her skill gaps. Her first quarter grades are marginally better than
they have been in the past, but as she continues into the winter months her instructors smile when she
blurts out things like “Oh! We did that last year!” and “We kinda do something like this now at school.”
Everyone except Natalie’s instructors at Mathnasium are surprised at her second quarter math grades.
She has picked up a great deal of positive momentum, and her parents are more than willing to keep the
“snowball effect” in motion.
While Matthew and Natalie experienced the same difficulties and felt the same way about math, each
came to a completely different ending. Unfortunately, these are the rough approximations of the only
two real outcomes for kids who struggle in math. History truly does repeat itself. A tutor may provide
short-term success, but children who struggle in math more often than not have struggled in math for a
great deal of time, and kids’ perception of that time is FAR different than ours. Remember, a year and a
half to a 4th grader is almost a quarter of their life so far! Skill gaps and the resulting confidence issues
that develop over a period of time take time to fix.
Mathnasium makes a long-term commitment to your family’s needs by providing one-time pricing for all
assessments and progress reports, regardless of lapses in enrollment. We also welcome siblings at a
discounted rate and give them the same individualized learning plan as every other student. Our
enrollment plans are designed around the most common length needed to address most kids’ skill gaps.
While we can’t predict the future, we can definitely tell you what’s worked for thousands of families
worldwide; a pattern of success backed by rock solid data and decades of research. Call 630-668-MATH
(6284) to learn more and schedule a trial session for your child today!
