Third Grader Failed Math - How to Get Caught Up?

I think a good tutor can work wonders; with my child learning confidence was a big issue. Once her tutor helped him regain his confidence he was able to recover much more quickly. Retired teachers can be great tutors; they have experience and patience.

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I think a good tutor can work wonders; with my child learning confidence was a big issue. Once her tutor helped him regain his confidence he was able to recover much more quickly. Retired teachers can be great tutors; they have experience and patience.

I know you said you hired a private tutor, but I was wondering if you checked in Mathnasium? I don't know if there is one by you, but I know a few people that have used it and their kids loved it (and passed their math class). I have used Sylvan with one of my kids and it was worth every penny. I have also used private tutors, but honestly with not as good results - but it would totally depend on the kid and the tutor.

Good luck!

One of mine has fine motor skill issues. Printing, cutting, etc. I work with her daily.

I had help from an OT specialist, bought the books teachers follow with kids like this and OT specialists use, and I trained myself to help her.

I have to do it every day. We keep it short, and fun, and I reward her.

If it was just help once or twice a week, I'm not sure we'd see near as much progress.

She was about a year or two behind her classmates. She still struggles and I expect I'll have to help her for another year or two (I hope to get her reassessed) - but she's no longer that behind. Her confidence is up which for me was a big driving force behind me working with her so much. She was getting anxious about showing her work and wanted to hide it.

Good luck :)

If she is undergoing diagnostic testing, I would also consider if she would benefit from an IEP - or does she already have one? Sometimes the determination of pass/fail can be adjusted for a child's needs via an IEP. Example: A friend's son didn't get held back but instead took summer school to be less far behind. This was something in his IEP.

My sister changed school districts and was a year behind in her reading at the new school. Our mother tutored her and she caught up by the end of the year. Much will depend on the child, the reason for the failure and what other factors contribute. I have a neurotypical child, but if yours is not, then it is not fair to compare my daughter to yours, or yours to her typical peers.

There should also be a special education teacher at your school you can meet with to try to determine a strategy for her. Our special ed department handles not just the kids who are behind in reading and math but those who are ahead as well. She's been a good resource for generic program availability questions.

It is great that you are working for her. In my area as well, it seems testing within the schools take a very long time. I have a nephew that was diagnosed ADHD when he was 4. He had help as well. I remember that he had special classes all through elementary school, with a bus that took his to a different school for either reading or math. He did catch up but not sure how long it took. He went to one of the preferred high schools in Chicago and is now in college.
My 7 yr old is not ADHD, though she can be a challenge sometimes. She also has difficulty with her work. Reading because she is lazy and does not want to. Math, because the way they teach it now. I do try to help her with the way it is now but she honestly does so much better when I show her the way I was taught. I also have a 16 yr old that is usually a straight A student, even with math. She had trouble with it when she was younger, until maybe 5th grade. I think if we had common core back then, it would have been worse. We had to find out the best way for her to learn it, not necessarily the way it was taught in class. She is taking honors math now. I know it can seem daunting because you really want this to be fixed, but take it one step at a time. Once things click, she will really take off.

when i was in jr.high i got behind in math. i was about 3 semesters behind. i had an amazing teacher that worked with me 2x a week and my parents worked with me as well. i cought back up by the end of the schoolyear and was spared needing to attend summer school.
my classmate was not so lucky. she and i were in the same boat and she ended up taking summer school to get caught up and even then she was still a bit behind and needed additional tutoring so she could pass the next year. so every child is different and will catch back up at a different pace.
the more you wirk with her the faster she should be able to catchup. but don't force it on her and burn her out or you will only make the situation worse.

well, it sounds as if you're doing all the right things. i'm glad you've got a sympathetic teacher willing to go an extra mile, and a private tutor is also a great step (assuming, of course, that it's a great tutor.)
the only thing i'd add is to be cautious about OVER-working it. if she needs an IEP, great, but you don't want to make her hammer so h*** o* math that you set up a lifelong aversion.
khairete
S.

If you make time to work with your daughter she could be caught up before the end of the year. I am sure with the teacher and tutors help she can get her grades back up.

Ask your school if there is any online program they subscribe to that your daughter can do at home. We worked IXL into my son's daily homework schedule and it seemed to help. Or check out Khan Academy-it's a free online learning program for all ages. Mathnasium might be a good option too if you have those in your area.

Are you "paying" the teacher with some sort of weekly gift card? If so, this is the best arrangement. The teacher knows what will skills will be tested.

If you are not compensating the teacher, the lessons may just be handouts and not much quality time.

If you want to spend a little money,ok a lot, and really get her caught up, you could look into a place called Lindamood-Bell learning Processes. This is a company I work for in the summer when I can't substitute teach. It is expensive, but the way they teach is ideal for kids who need a lot of repetition and one on one. If the school district can't teacher her, I have heard of parents suing the school district to pay for it. I looked and the nearest center to you is in Fairfax. I am not sure how close that is to you though. I hope you guys figure it out soon.

A 504 plan should address this completely UNLESS she has a developmental disability that is enough to get her in the special ed program.

The tutoring and extra help from the teacher should be enough to bring her up. Don't just assume she needs to be held back, okay? Think about this. If math is the only area she struggles then doing this grade over will be awful for her. She'll be spending 80% of her day doing the same work she did this year.

See if there is a summer school program around that does math. Some districts have one school that will have summer school classes.

I'd see how the diagnosis goes too. Testing for disabilities at this age used to be really common but with so many kids going to pre-school, pre-K, then by kindergarten the teachers are very familiar with the kids and can see what is normal for them and if they're having any issues that need to be diagnosed.

Third grade is sort of a turning point academically. They have to do so much of the basics that the rest of their math is based on. Our girl didn't learn anything in 3rd grade math. Almost every kid that went through that class had to do tutoring and work extra hard in 4th grade. She learned 3rd grade math, 4th grade math, and was into 5th grade math by the end of 4th grade. Her teacher kept her after school 2 days per week. She flourished under this teacher and bloomed.

I think you're on the right track. Just don't automatically expect her to be held back. If there isn't a diagnosis and she's passing everything else see how she's doing at the end of summer before agreeing to being held back.