RSM vs Mathnasium

[Anonymous]

5th grader loves math but is slow at processing. Teacher recommended reinforcing for confidence. We are looking at mathnasium (in person) or RSM (most likely virtual due to distance). Has anyone tried both and which would you recommend? Or, any apps you’ve found success with at 6th-8th grade levels?

[Anonymous]

In-person will work better than online/virtual.

[Anonymous]

Also consider Kumon, if there is one nearby. Kumon also is very good for reinforcement.

[Anonymous]

I have one kid in each, so I can speak to this comparison directly. It sounds to me like Mathnasium is a better fit. My Mathnasium kid is a good math student and on or just above grade level. We send him there to get extra practice and make sure that he stays on track. He could probably do without it, but it’s easy and he doesn’t mind going. Many of his similarly situated friends go there as well.

My RSM kid is entirely different. RSM is not remedial or for math support. It goes much faster and on a different sequence than American math programs. The kids who do well there are significantly ahead in math and happy to be « math » kids. You might do okay there for a little while but the program expects you to quickly pick up steam and start moving at a fast pace.

Mathnasium seems a better fit for heat you describe.

[Anonymous]

RSM is for enrichment, not reinforcement. It's not the right fit for extra practice, but for a kid who is very bored in math.

[Anonymous]

RSM does have 3 levels, so you could enroll in the lowest level and see how he does. But I would only do it in person. If Mathnasium is the in-person option, I'd go with that.

[Anonymous]

I sent my kids to Mathnasium in middle school and high school.

It is a lot like the personal attention they should be getting from their classroom teacher during small group/differentiated instruction.

You need to plan on a longer term (maybe one school year) to see results.

I agree with the previous poster that RSM would be more for advanced students who like math and don't need temediation.

[Anonymous]

^remediation

Also, use Google to search dcurbanmom and Mathnasium. There are lots of threads with pros and cons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:RSM is for enrichment, not reinforcement. It's not the right fit for extra practice, but for a kid who is very bored in math.

Not true. The lowest level of each grade is good for remediation. We know kids who have been placed in the grade lower to help them get caught up. Once the kid gets the skills theya re missing down, they can be moved into the grade level class, and then potentially up to another level.

RSM is a smaller group of kids who receive more attention in class and homework to reinforce. But it is a longer class that meets once a week and that might not work for a kid who is struggling initially, they might be better with shorter periods of time. It really depends on the kid.