Schools are constantly faced with the challenge of helping at-risk students improve their performance and achievement in math. To assist schools with meeting this challenge, Hotmath, Inc., the leading provider of all-in-one math help, introduces Catchup Math. Designed for at-risk middle and high school students, the new online diagnostic-prescriptive remediation service delivers a cycle of quizzes followed by personalized review and practice to help students catch up in math.
Catchup Math offers intervention programs for Prealgebra, Algebra 1, Geometry, and Algebra 2. Each subject area may be covered as a full course, or targeted with specific topics selected by a teacher. In addition, the online remediation service has programs to prepare at-risk students for success on state exit exams, or for entry into college algebra courses. Through personalized assessment, review and practice, Catchup Math helps students advance until they are ready to be enrolled in a targeted mainstream class.
"Catchup Math combines all the elements needed for successful math remediation, including assessment, review, practice, and optional online tutoring," said Chuck Grant, co-founder of Hotmath. "Whether part of an after-school or summer school program, or offered in a remedial math class for struggling students, Catchup Math is an easy-to-use, affordable solution for at-risk students who are behind in math and need to catch up."
A student is either assigned a specific course proficiency goal, or may begin Catchup Math with a placement test. Students take a 15-minute quiz, and then receive a prescription of practice problems and review materials such as videos, activities and games for topics in which they need help. When solving problems, students write on an online whiteboard to show their work, which can be saved for review by their teacher.
Isaac Berniker, math teacher at American Indian Public High School in Oakland, piloted Catchup Math with at-risk high school students in an after-school tutoring program. He commented, "The Catchup Math approach of quizzing to identify individual student weakness and then offering remediation in those areas is ideal for a student group with diverse learning gaps. Students appreciated the ease-of-use and flexibility of choosing the review and practice resources, as each student has an individual learning style."
Catchup Math presents the quizzes, topic review and practice in short sessions that keep at-risk students engaged. The online remediation service addresses different learning styles, by allowing students to choose how they use Catchup Math. For example, videos, activities and lessons can be viewed immediately, or may be requested as needed when working on practice problems.
To help teachers assess student progress, Catchup Math provides reports that tabulate time spent, quiz scores and review materials utilized. Most importantly, teachers can access a student's work on practice problems through the online whiteboard, which demonstrates the student's understanding and progress.
Catchup Math also offers optional live online math tutoring, so that a student can ask a question 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Communication takes place online through an interactive whiteboard where visual aids such as drawings, graphs and mathematical steps can be displayed. A messaging system is built into Catchup Math so a student can send questions electronically to a teacher or administrator.
Catchup Math may be purchased for individual students at retail prices, or purchased in volume by schools, tutoring centers and supplemental educational service providers at discount prices. Individual student subscriptions start at $99, and school pricing for the 2009-10 school year starts at $3 per student.
