We often hear from parents – “my child excelled in math in grade school, but now that they are in middle school, they are struggling.”
What’s driving the math difficulty? When kids are in grade school, math mainly consists of one or two steps – carrying numbers, etc. However, when students make the transition to middle school and junior high, math is more complex and requires multi-step functions.
The Root Cause of Math Struggles
Math can be difficult as it takes quite a few strong skills to do well. For example, if a child has low working memory, they will be prone to making careless mistakes in math, especially now that higher-level math requires multiple steps (algebra, various equations, etc.). Low working memory can also cause difficulties with problem solving as it inhibits the ability to hold and work with the information to get to a solution.
Long-term memory is required for a student to retain math facts or the formulas and steps required to solve a problem. This skill is also required for test taking.
Reasoning is the ability to problem solve – a necessary skill for completing word problems or more complex calculations.
Improving Math Skills
The first step toward improving math performance is to identify why it is difficult – the root cause. A cognitive skills assessment at LearningRx Woodbury will identify the root cause of math difficulties. From there, a 1-on-1, individualized training program can be designed to strengthen these skills and unlock math abilities, like we did for Eme.
The cause of Eme’s math struggles was mainly due to attention, memory and processing speed weaknesses. Her math struggles were not actually due to math, but these root cause issues. Once they were identified and addressed, Eme’s math skills skyrocketed.
*Results are from past clients. You or your loved ones may or may not achieve the same outcomes, but you can read more about our research and results here.