Math tutoring services popular as public schools struggle with poor math scores
TORONTO — Four years ago, Arsheen Abbas signed her son up for private after-school math lessons because she felt the Grade 4 subject curriculum was not rigorous enough.
The Oakville, Ont., mother enrolled her son in Spirit of Math — one of several private tutoring companies operating in Ontario — in hopes of bolstering his learning at an early stage.
“They are not teaching math the same way that we used to be taught,” Abbas said of the lessons her son was receiving in school. “One of our concerns, which we’ve heard from many parents, is that once (students) get to high school, all of a sudden they are flabbergasted by the amount of math or kind of math they need to do.”
Abbas’ son, who is now in Grade 8 and still attends Spirit of Math classes, is among a growing number of students in Ontario using private after-school tutoring businesses to boost their math education.