Not every student needs summer math tutoring, but there are situations where it can really turn things around for your teen. As an experienced math tutor I’ve witnessed the benefits of summer tutoring for teenagers in the following situations:
(1) They’re thinking about taking an advanced math class next year, but aren’t really sure if they’re ready for it:
An example of this would be signing up for AP calculus. Doing well in this class can help a student get into college and earn college credits, but only if they get a good score on the AP test in May. Summer tutoring can solidify the precalculus concepts and give them a head start on the first few months of calculus. AP calculus is a very fast-paced class. Starting off the year feeling confident and ahead of the class can make all the difference in the world for your teen!
(2) There’s been a decline in interest or class participation in math over the past school year:
Maybe they got behind because of overwhelm due to academics or sports, or maybe they had difficulty connecting with/learning from last year’s math teacher. What your student really needs in this situation is one-on-one attention. Someone who can uncover the problem and work with the parent and student to make a plan for fixing it.
(3) You’re concerned your teen has holes in their math foundation that might affect them academically in the future:
Summer’s a great time to assess your teen’s math foundation and practice those concepts that were either forgotten or not fully absorbed. I also like to help them polish up their math terms over the summer. Students who are fluent in the language of math, like “rationalizing the denominator” and “multiplying by the conjugate” are much more likely to raise their hand and participate in class than those who are not.
(4) They’ve signed up to take the SAT or ACT late summer or fall:
Summer is the perfect time for standardized test prep. We’ll start by getting a baseline of your teen’s math foundation with a practice SAT or ACT test. After quickly grading the practice test we’ll know exactly where to put our energy, and we can come up with a targeted study plan for going forward.
For a free consultation to discuss how best to support your teen academically this summer, please feel free to contact me. 🤓
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