My child has really been struggling with math this semester. He got a failing grade for the first six-week period and for the second six weeks. The third six weeks is looking the same. He just says he doesn’t understand what is going on in order to complete his work. Is there anything I can do over the winter holidays to salvage his grade for the semester?

Now is a great time to get started with a professional tutor! This is an opportune time to catch up on assignments and prepare for semester exams. Most importantly, with the holidays, your son has two weeks away from school to focus on skills not mastered and reviewing content from the last semester.

One-on-one instruction has been proven to be the most effective way to learn. You can help your child now and improve grades – and attitude – when the spring semester begins. Contact us to find out more about how we can help your student make gains over the holidays.

My daughter is struggling with math. How can I help?

Math is a subject that builds on previous instruction. For example, you can’t understand division without having a firm grasp of multiplication. Algebra II will be extremely difficult if the student didn’t really understand what was going on in Algebra I.

As a parent you can ask your child’s math teacher a few questions that will help you understand why math has become a problem:

• Is there an obvious gap in her math foundation?
• Is she working at her grade level?
• What did her last standardized test scores reveal about her math ability? What were her strengths and weaknesses?
• Is she turning in all her class work and homework?
• What is the quality of the work she turns in?
• How well is she doing on quizzes and tests?

These answers will give you a better picture of your daughter’s math abilities. If you aren’t satisfied with the answers or feel there is a discrepancy you can seek a formal math evaluation that will provide very specific feedback.

Once the problem is identified by either the teacher or an assessment, you can talk to the math teacher about providing additional study time, or you can help at home. Private tutors are also a valuable resource. Most students who say they don’t like math are really just frustrated by the gap in their math foundation. Once the foundation is strengthened, their attitudes and grades will improve.

Contact us more information about math assessments or tutoring.