The first session focuses on understanding where your child is academically and what specific challenges they're facing. A tutor will work through a few problems with your student to identify whether gaps are in foundational skills, conceptual understanding, or problem-solving strategies. This assessment helps create a personalized plan tailored to your child's learning style and pace. From there, tutoring sessions build confidence while addressing the specific areas that need support.

Showing work reveals your child's thinking process, which helps teachers and tutors identify exactly where misunderstandings happen. A student might get the right answer by luck or by using an inefficient strategy, but showing work makes it clear whether they truly understand the concept. When working with a tutor, showing work also allows for real-time feedback and correction—your child learns not just what the answer is, but how to approach similar problems independently. This builds stronger problem-solving skills that transfer across different types of math problems.

Math anxiety often stems from feeling rushed, confused by a concept, or embarrassed about asking questions in a classroom setting. One-on-one tutoring removes that pressure and creates a safe space where your child can ask questions without judgment and work at their own pace. When students understand concepts deeply rather than just memorizing procedures, confidence naturally builds. A tutor can also celebrate small wins and help your child see that mistakes are a normal part of learning, gradually shifting their mindset about math.

Varsity Tutors connects you with tutors who are familiar with the various curricula used across Baton Rouge's 25 school districts, whether your child's school uses traditional textbooks, Singapore Math, Eureka Math, or other approaches. Tutors can align their instruction with what your child is learning in class, using similar language and strategies so concepts reinforce each other. This alignment helps your student feel more confident when tackling homework and classroom assignments, since tutoring builds directly on what they're already seeing in school.

Many elementary students learn math as isolated facts and procedures—multiplication tables, division steps, fraction rules—without seeing how these concepts relate to each other. A tutor helps students discover patterns, like how multiplication is repeated addition or how fractions represent parts of a whole. When students see these connections, math becomes less about memorizing and more about understanding underlying principles. This deeper understanding makes it easier for students to tackle new concepts and problem-solve independently, since they can apply familiar patterns to unfamiliar situations.

Word problems require students to read carefully, identify what information matters, and translate words into mathematical operations—a multi-step process that's often overwhelming. Effective strategies include drawing pictures or diagrams to visualize the problem, underlining key information, and breaking multi-step problems into smaller chunks. A tutor can teach your child to ask themselves questions like "What am I trying to find?" and "What information do I have?" to organize their thinking. With practice and guidance, word problems shift from frustrating to manageable, and students build confidence in their problem-solving abilities.

Progress shows up in multiple ways: improved grades on assignments and tests, fewer frustration moments during homework, increased willingness to attempt challenging problems, and your child explaining their thinking more clearly. A tutor will regularly assess understanding through practice problems and conversations, identifying when concepts have solidified and when additional practice is needed. Most importantly, you'll notice your child's confidence growing—they'll ask better questions, make fewer careless mistakes, and approach new topics with curiosity rather than dread. These shifts in attitude and understanding are the real indicators that tutoring is making a difference.