5 Reasons Windermere Students Who Struggle in Algebra Need More Than Extra Homework

According to the Florida Department of Education’s 2025 B.E.S.T. Algebra 1 End-of-Course assessment results, 43% of test-takers scored below Achievement Level 3, the state’s on-grade-level benchmark. 

When parents notice algebra struggles at home, they often resort to extra homework in the form of worksheets or repetitive drills. At Mathnasium of Windermere, we know firsthand that it takes more than that to address the root of the problem. 

Today, we’ll explore why students who struggle with algebra typically need more than extra homework and how personalized tutoring can help them develop a true understanding of algebra and the confidence to tackle future math assignments independently.

1. Extra Homework Doesn't Reveal the Root Cause of an Algebra Struggle

Extra homework can confirm your child is struggling, but it rarely tells you why. We see students miss a problem for very different reasons:

• A rushed answer

• A misread question

• A knowledge gap from several lessons back

Families in Windermere can see how common that last reason is in Florida's own testing data, according to the Florida Department of Education.

Students enrolled in Algebra 1 at Orange County Public Schools take the EOC during the state testing window, which can make prerequisite gaps more visible as the course progresses.

Florida provides family resources to help parents interpret the student's assessment results and achievement level, and its testing program publishes a family guide to reading those reports.

Without knowing which reason caused the mistake, your student ends up repeating it with more of the same homework.

2. Extra Homework Practices the Current Topic Before Prerequisites Are Secure

Algebra skills build on earlier knowledge, although the sequence varies by curriculum and problem type. The table below shows common supporting relationships that typically appear in Algebra 1:

Each new unit assumes the one before it is solid. Algebra hides these gaps well, unlike arithmetic. Your child can follow along in class using memorized steps while the greater skill underneath stays shaky.

If your child never fully learned to distribute a negative sign, that gap doesn't stay contained to one lesson. It resurfaces in every new topic that depends on it, no matter how many extra problems they complete on this week's assignment.

In a district as large as Orange County Public Schools, an Algebra 1 class at Windermere High School or West Orange High School moves through the same units on the same schedule whether or not every student is ready, and your child won't close that gap without support outside the regular lesson.

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3. Extra Homework Repeats a Misconception Instead of Resolving It

Your student's approach to a problem repeats every time they practice it, whether that approach is right or wrong.

Researchers Nicole McNeil, Emily Fyfe, and April Dunwiddie found that ordinary practice can preserve a narrow understanding of the equal sign, while practice designed to prompt alternative strategies can improve understanding.

You can't always tell from across the kitchen table whether your child is building fluency or rehearsing the same mistake.

Both look like progress on paper.

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4. Extra Homework Strengthens Procedures Without Building Understanding

Your child can get faster at a procedure without ever understanding why it works.

Researchers Chirove and Ogbonnaya found in a 2021 study that Grade 11 students' procedural knowledge scores outpaced their conceptual knowledge scores, even though both were low overall.

That pattern can stay hidden as long as problems look like the ones your learner has practiced.

Here's the same algebra skill tested two ways, once in its familiar form and once wrapped inside a word problem:

Your child may memorize the steps for the left column and still stall on the right, even though the math underneath is identical.

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5. Extra Homework Isn't Always the Right Type or Amount of Practice

Practice needs to target the specific gap. A standard worksheet repeats the same format and difficulty level from top to bottom, so it rarely adjusts to what your learner is missing.

Effective practice looks different from a standard worksheet in a few specific ways:

• Interleaving different problem types within one session

• Spacing review across several days instead of one sitting

• Isolating a single skill before combining it with others

Your student's extra homework, typically the kind that parents assign, rarely does any of these three things on its own.

Watch for this at home. Your child breezes through a worksheet on one topic, then goes blank the moment a mixed review or word problem asks for the same skill in a different form. The practice covered the procedure but never tested whether your student understood it.

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At Mathnasium, we work with students in small-group sessions to close algebra gaps and build new understanding.

How Personalized Tutoring at Mathnasium Helps Students Overcome Algebra Struggles

Mathnasium is a math-only learning center dedicated to helping PreK-12 students of all skill levels excel in math.

Mathnasium tutors help close a prerequisite gap, correct a misconception, or build the conceptual understanding a busy class schedule doesn't always allow for. 

Our proprietary teaching approach, the Mathnasium Method™, is designed around each student's needs and learning style to help them learn and master algebra. Our approach includes:

• Assessment and Personalized Learning Plans: Every student begins with a diagnostic assessment that identifies your child's current skill level, learning goals, and learning style. From those findings, we build a personalized learning plan tailored to the specific prerequisite your learner needs, whether that's several lessons behind the current unit or several grades back.

• Teaching for Understanding: Our specially trained tutors teach for understanding, catching a recurring error in real time and correcting the misconception behind it before extra practice repeats it. We build the concept behind a procedure first, so your student understands why a method works, not just how to repeat it.

• Problem-Solving and Critical Thinking: Your learner builds problem-solving and critical-thinking skills through practice matched to their specific gap, in type and amount, mixing formats and spacing review across sessions. Explaining their reasoning out loud lets a tutor catch a shaky concept before it becomes a pattern.

• An Engaging and Fun Learning Environment: Sessions combine caring, small-group instruction with games and consistent encouragement, so your child stays engaged throughout. Built-in homework help after the day's learning plan topics means the concepts from that session carry straight back into the classroom.

The impact extends beyond the classroom:

• 94% of parents report an improvement in their child's math skills and understanding

• 93% of parents report their child's improved attitude toward math after attending Mathnasium

• 90% of students saw an improvement in their school grades

With over 1,100 learning centers in North America, there is likely a Mathnasium close to you. 

Families throughout Windermere, Dr. Phillips, and Apopka trust Mathnasium of Windermere to help their children build lasting skills and confidence in algebra. 

No matter where your child is in their math journey, our team is ready to help.

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