As a math interventionist and special education teacher, the biggest issue I hear from my students revolves around math anxiety. There was a piece early on that they missed or for some reason just doesn't make sense to them. As the school year progresses and skills are expected to be built upon each other, suddenly that little piece that students miss causes them to miss later skills. They fall behind, then further and further behind. They view themselves as stupid and unable to do math. Everything that comes after that sticking point creates panic and a brain cannot learn (or re-learn) when in panic mode.
So, we start from the beginning. We discover what they know and what they don't know. We figure out where the weird gaps are. We create a solid foundation and allow students to build their skills and confidence until their math level is the same as their grade level. MathScore's program has allowed us to scaffold a math experience for our students that allows them for the first time to say, "I LOVE MATH!" (Or at least, "I'M NOT SCARED OF IT!")
Most of our students come into our program 1-3 grade levels behind in math. We designed our math intervention program for grades 3-8 around MathScore's site. The assessments allow us to pinpoint areas of need and strength quickly. The best part is that it makes sense to students and parents, without the need of translation from "educational-ese". The ability to create individualized topic lists for our students to work from (first based off of grade level standards, then as students progress, customizing it to remove skills they've mastered and focus on skills still needing practice) allow us to personalize the experience.
We plan on the intervention taking 2 trimesters - 24 weeks, if a student works 5 days a week, 20-30 minutes a day (depending on grade level). Students have finished much sooner than this, depending on need. We have seen students blossom, gaining two entire grade levels of skills in that time, testing out of the program on grade level. They report back to us that math is no longer the dreaded "put it off until last" subject. Now, it's the one they want to do first. They use MathScore as a warm-up to their day. They love to see how many points they can get, and what the highest rank they can achieve will be. They (and their parents) like that they can check the time they've spent in practicing, and are often amazed at how many problems they can complete in such a short amount of time. The inclusion of Khan Academy videos for instruction is also genius. We've had parents report back to us, asking if we can turn OFF the videos, because they've discovered their kids spending so much time watching them!
I could not ask for a better program than MathScore. It's easy to understand and to navigate. It allows for all parties involved (students, teachers, parents) to keep track of what's going on. It allows students to feel supported and experience success in math. It allows for endless customization and flux of skills and grade levels. I have and will continue to recommend MathScore to schools, homeschoolers, and anyone needing to brush up on their skills.
Lindsey Foulkes, Colorado Calvert Academy