During the school year, kids are often racing from class to homework to extracurriculars, with little time to slow down and truly master challenging concepts. But summer offers something different: space and time to revisit material that didn’t click the first time. It’s an opportunity to rebuild academic confidence and close learning gaps before they widen.
Your student might have struggled in math this year because of skill gaps, executive function challenges, or tech tools that made homework easier but didn’t build real understanding. Summer is the perfect time to catch up and strengthen the skills they’ll need for next year.
In this post, we’ll explore why many students find it challenging to catch up in math on their own, and how meaningful progress is possible before the new school year begins.
Why So Many Kids Struggle with Math
Math is uniquely cumulative. Each skill builds on the last, like bricks in a wall. When students miss foundational concepts, the challenges don’t just pause—they pile up.
“Even a medium-level math question can involve six or seven steps,” explained Pete Pecoraro, Math Expert and Test Prep Tutor at Educational Connections. “And if you make one small mistake, even something minuscule on the sixth step, it leads to a feeling of being defeated.”
Math also places heavy demands on working memory, which makes it especially challenging for students with ADHD or executive function difficulties.
Why Homework Success Doesn’t Always Equal Mastery
Parents often call our office wondering why their child seems to handle math homework just fine, but underperforms on tests. This gap is common, and it usually stems from ineffective study habits and an overreliance on tools like calculators or step-by-step AI apps. While these tools can help students complete assignments, they don’t always lead to real understanding.
“AI math apps, like Photomath and Mathway, do all the work for you,” says Pete. “You’re not really learning the solving steps.”
That’s why Pete encourages students to use these tools after they’ve tried solving the problem on their own.
“I tell my students to do the work to the best of their ability, then use the app to check it. When you say, ‘Wow, the app matches what I did.’ That’s when technology is working for you.”
Word Problems: Where Many Kids Get Stuck
Many students can handle straightforward math equations, but freeze when faced with a word problem. Why? Because solving word problems requires multiple skills at once:
- Reading comprehension
- Translating words into math
- Multi-step reasoning
That’s a heavy cognitive load, especially for students with ADHD or executive function challenges.
“Most of us can’t do math from a paragraph,” says Pete. “But if you adopt the practice of writing down what you know, what I call WDWYK, you have a much better chance of understanding the problem and getting it right.”
Instead of diving in blindly, Pete’s strategy helps students slow down and extract key details like the numbers given, the labels that explain what those numbers represent (miles, hours, dollars, etc.), and the relationships between them (e.g., speed, cost per item, or total distance). Writing down what you know breaks the problem into manageable steps, reduces overwhelm, and gives students a more straightforward path to the solution.
Why Personalized Math Tutoring Works
In a classroom, students often hear just one explanation, and if it doesn’t click, they’re expected to move on anyway. That’s a major challenge for many students in a subject as layered as math.
“If you have content gaps here and there in math, it’s incredibly difficult to go back and teach yourself,” explains Pete.
That’s where personalized math tutoring makes all the difference. With one-on-one support, students receive tailored explanations, guided practice, and the ability to move at their own pace.
“And they can ask as many questions as they need to without feeling embarrassed in front of the class or the teacher,” Pete adds.
Why Summer Is the Ideal Time to Catch Up in Math
With fewer demands and distractions, summer gives students a valuable opportunity to strengthen math skills and rebuild confidence before fall.
“With math, you’ve got to get on it early,” Pete advises. “The earlier you notice these issues, the better off you’ll be when the next school year starts.”
Whether your child needs to revisit missed concepts, prepare for the next level, or simply gain confidence, summer math tutoring provides the time, structure, and support to make meaningful progress.
Let’s Build a Plan That Works for Your Child
At Educational Connections, we meet your child where they are through personalized, one-on-one virtual math tutoring. Our tutors use an interactive, educational platform called LessonSpace to keep sessions engaging, focused, and effective.
We also offer support in other school subjects, executive function coaching, test prep tutoring, and college consulting. Whatever your child needs this summer, we’re here to help.
Schedule a free consultation to discuss your child’s goals and challenges.
Want More Math Tips? Watch the Full Webinar: Math Made Manageable
This blog features just a few of Pete’s insights. In our full recorded webinar, Math Made Manageable, Pete shares even more practical strategies to help your child feel confident in math again, from dealing with testing anxiety to decoding tricky word problems. Whether your child is in elementary school, middle school, or high school, you’ll walk away with actionable ideas to support their learning.