The Northwest Evaluation Association, NWEA, released figures outlining how we can anticipate the COVID slide impacting student scores. As grim as the forecast for reading is, math is far worse. Students are projected to lose between a semester and a full year of academic growth in math! These projections are likely conservative for students in upper elementary grades, and perhaps even more so for vulnerable students who receive additional socio-economic support from their schools.
Why is math such a high risk subject? Beth Tarasawa, a researcher at the NWEA, explains “Anecdotally, we find it’s easier to keep reading in front of kids… it’s more difficult in a lot of ways to teach math to the curriculum and the new standards we have.” Despite math being a challenge to teach, success in the subject is entirely dependent on the individual’s prerequisite skills. “Students not only must master previous skills, they need to apply those skills to more complex concepts with each successive grade level,” said Mathnasium Center Director Anshul Kakar. Parents and educators have to tackle the issue head on.
Academics and educators alike agree -- our best hope of flattening the academic slide for our students is to “repeat successful prior interventions for catching students up”. Enter Mathnasium@home.
Mathnasium@home is the online version of Mathnasium’s face-to-face, expert instruction so kids can learn math from the comfort of their own homes. Mathnasium@home features the same math tutoring and enrichment, homework help, and test/quiz prep services with our highly trained instructors as our learning center, but live through a computer.
