[baldfat]

Problem with Math:

Moving people in class forward before mastery. I guarantee you that 95% of the problems with math is students don't have one or two concepts mastered and then they are forever unsure.

My strategy is I use Khan Academies Math assessment with kids all the way through their parents. https://www.khanacademy.org/math

My two youngest have been doing for a few years. My 1st grader has almost completed 3rd grade right now. I know he has accomplished all the steps previously. My 6th grader she is in per-algerbra and every time she brings in homework I know she doesn't understand what she was taught. It can take 20 minutes for her to get her head around the concept but then she is fine. I have found that if I use Khan Academy after the drama level is lower and I have found her telling me she watched the Khan Academy videos and she is fine. I'll watch her do two problems and if she nailed it we move on. Math requires as much intervention in 4th to 6th grade as reading did from K-3rd grade form me.

In the UK they have started trials of Mathematics mastery. You can't move on till you have mastered the previous step. They did it one year and saw a slight increase in scores. This has to be started from Kindergarten till 5th grade to really see a difference. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematics_mastery