What is Math Recovery?

Since the inception of the program in 1992, the need for Math Recovery has been continually reinforced in working with thousands of teachers and students. About 25% of young students do very well in math and will always do so with most classroom programs. Another 50% will do well in a good classroom program. The remaining 25% — the low-attainers are likely to remain as low-attainers as they progress through the school years. A sound intervention program has the potential to make a vast difference for many of these students. It can provide them an extended period in which they are successful in number learning, and remove the effects of very early experience of failing at learning, and in particular, failing at math learning.

The approach in Math Recovery is first to figure out in detail, the student’s current knowledge and strategies. Assessments that generate a score or a list of items that the student can’t answer are not sufficient. Math Recovery teaching sessions are intended to be intensive for the student, and to continually operate at the cutting-edge of the student’s current knowledge. For the vast majority of Math Recovery students, focusing, thinking very hard and succeeding are very positive experiences.

Math Recovery is internationally recognized as a highly successful program of intervention in early number learning. The program is used extensively by schools systems in the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia. Two recent books provide much of the detail of this component of the program (see Wright et al., 2000; & Wright et al., 2002) and a third book describing the implications for classroom instruction was published in 2005.

Specifically Math Recovery goals are to:

• Identify students “at risk” by means of a structured and objective assessment system that allows educators to know exactly where students are in their mathematical development and apply early, short term intervention.
• Provide trained Math Recovery specialist teachers with the intervention and detailed instructional system that increases student performance in basic arithmetic skill through intensive, individualized instruction.
• Build student confidence as Math Recovery students work one-on-one with the trained Math Recovery Teacher and help students find success in mathematics and other curriculum areas.
• Offer comprehensive, sustainable and innovative staff development that ensures quality instruction by highly-trained teachers.
• Influence and inform curriculum development and school wide mathematics programs, and ensure compatibility with all standards-based math programs.
• Apply a research-based approach to developing numeracy competence giving teachers extensive, current knowledge of assessment and teaching which is otherwise unavailable.

.doc  or .pdf Math Recovery details including program overview, certification requirements, and training details

.doc Math Recovery’s alignment to Kentucky Core Content 4.1

.doc or .pdf More details about Math Recovery for Kentucky teachers and grant writers

web Math Recovery website