Mathnasium’s Customized Learning Builds Students’ Skills and Confidence

With a growing need for academic support nationwide following the learning disruptions presented by the pandemic, the importance of supplemental education services is increasingly clear. Mathnasium, the math education franchise with over 1,000 locations globally, is playing a key role in increasing students’ math knowledge and performance while also boosting their confidence in all their subjects and making an impact in their academic careers overall.

“Math is often the first big boulder students encounter. Kids generally are able to figure out reading and English and other subjects fairly naturally; I think math is where the education system has a lot of room for improvement,” explained Kevin Shen, chief development officer. “Once they hit that first boulder, hopefully they get over it, but if they don't, it's a very slippery slope. Us being there to help push them over that hump is hugely beneficial to their long-term growth trajectory.”

When Mathnasium enters a community, it brings an opportunity for local students to learn in a way that is both fun and effective.

The Need for Supplemental Math Support Is Clear

Students often view math as a challenging subject. As Shen explained, though most students can intuitively understand language-related subjects, math can present a hurdle. This challenge was only exacerbated by COVID learning loss, with National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores, often referred to as The Nation’s Report Card, showing additional losses in math learning in key academic years.

The majority of Mathnasium students are between the ages of seven and 17 with about 20% of students attending during their high school years. This could potentially be a function of when math becomes even more challenging, explained Shen, but the age range of attendees demonstrates the brand’s flexibility in addressing students across a range of inflection points.

By focusing on math specifically, Mathnasium is able to focus its curriculum and educational resources to provide specialized support to each student. Even within the math space, the franchise’s approach to student engagement serves as another differentiator. 

Mathnasium’s Approach to Learning Stands Out in the Field

Math is best learned when students are given an opportunity to approach the subject in a low pressure environment. According to Jo Boaler, a Stanford professor, students are more likely to succeed when they see learning math as something enjoyable rather than a high-pressure task.

“Speed pressure, timed testing and blind memorization pose high hurdles in the youthful pursuit of math,” wrote Clifton Parker for Stanford News.

“The first time that I was in a center and able to see the students engaged, having fun learning math, building that confidence and seeing that light bulb kind of go off, that kind of rekindled my own passion towards education,” explained Shen. “I did supplementary education growing up, and it wasn't a fun experience for me. It felt more like school and homework. But seeing these kids come in a couple times a week, do their punch cards and get prizes kind of opened my eyes to a different way of math education.” 

Mathnasium provides personalized, face-to-face math instruction to students in a way that makes sense to them. Rather than leaning on memorization, Mathnasium is committed to supporting students in their growth by creating a customizing learning plan for them and using a combination of teaching techniques so they will truly understand the way math works.

The initial investment required to begin the operation of a Mathnasium franchise is $112,860-$149,155. To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit 1851franchise.com/mathnasium/info