By Elizabeth Wulfhorst
Studies are showing that hybrid learning during the last year-plus of the pandemic has adversely affected students’ academic performance. A recent report from the Fairfax County Public Schools Office of Research and Strategic Improvement in Virginia found the number of middle and high school students with two or more failing marks increased by 83 percent in the first quarter of the 2020-2021 school year compared to the year prior.
Even in a normal year, students’ grades may slip when they encounter difficult new concepts or a demanding workload.
It may be too hard for students and their parents to confront the challenges the pandemic wrought alone and knowing when to seek outside help could mean the difference between a smooth school year and a treacherous one.
Since many parents have not seen a periodic table, analyzed “Wuthering Heights” or had to solve complex math problems in a couple decades, a tutor may be just what the doctor ordered to help students regain their academic footing.
Matt Makrinos is a partner at WaveLength Tutoring and Test Prep with locations in Middletown and Wall. WaveLength offers private tutoring in individual subjects and standardized test prep both individually and in group settings. He said a number of factors can determine when parents should think about accessing academic help outside the school setting.
“One of the things (to look for) is not being able to finish tests on time,” he said. “If a student needs extra time… that’s an indicator of inefficiency.” Makrinos said he feels a lot of times schools teach “extra steps” students don’t actually need which can reduce efficiency. “When you get into the real world, efficiency really matters, and on all the standardized tests, there’s a clock. Time management can ultimately end up deciding their scores.”
He said any work taking longer than usual should raise a red flag, especially if it takes hours to finish homework. According to The Princeton Review, 25 percent of high school students say homework is their biggest source of stress, and homework progress can help parents determine if it’s time to call in a tutor. Students who find their homework is taking too long, particularly double or triple the amount of time it once required, may need some extra help.
“CBA gives two to three hours of homework every night. That’s normal there,” noted Makrinos, a graduate of the all-boys private school. But, he said, most schools give about an hour of homework a night, depending on the grade level and the courses a student is taking. “If it’s taking longer than (an hour) for them to do it, that’s a pretty good indicator” help is needed, he said.
Additional indications that a tutor may be needed include declining test scores, which may indicate a student is having trouble mastering the material; a disinterest in school when a student previously enjoyed going; or even an undiagnosed learning disorder. Tutors who specialize in learning disorders can assess and address learning conflicts and tailor instructions in ways that can help students overcome those challenges.
Teachers can be a great asset, helping to pinpoint which concepts are overly challenging to students and notifying parents to problem areas. This can be beneficial for tutors who should “have a plan,” said Makrinos, “a designed curriculum for any student, based on their goals.” He said he spends a long time with parents before beginning any tutoring to determine a student’s needs. “Maybe it’s enrichment, maybe it’s, ‘You have to keep me from failing this class’ ” or prepping for an entrance exam or standardized test like the SAT or GRE. For Makrinos, tutoring should not be an activity, like karate or dance lessons, that continues until the student gets tired of it. “Tutoring should have a curriculum and that curriculum should have a beginning, a middle and an end,” he said.
“Tutoring can be harmful if it’s done in perpetuity,” he noted. Continuous tutoring teaches a student that “they can’t do it without a tutor, so it’s terrible for their confidence.”
“I’m there to address a problem and go. The problem isn’t the kids,” he said, “the problem is some disconnect in learning. Once I can bridge that gap, I’m obsolete.”
When to start tutoring depends on the time of year and the reason for the tutoring, Makrinos said. “During the school year you want to start earlier than later.”
“If you’re failing tests early in the class, you need to do it then,” he said. “If you hang in there and you go to extra help and you try, odds are you’re digging a hole for your GPA you’re not going to be able to get out of.”
He also said waiting means the tutor has more work to do trying to figure out where the student stopped understanding the material. “The more of your class that I’ve missed, the more backtracking I have to do to figure out what’s the disconnect.”
For the SAT or ACT, Makrinos recommends prepping the summer before junior year of high school. “Junior year is a very difficult year” for kids academically, he said. “By the time it’s spring they’re getting driver’s licenses and are less focused on school. They’ve had senioritis since they were sophomores,” he pointed out. Summertime, without the distractions of homework and games and other activities, is the perfect time to take a test prep class, “and actually dedicate the time to it.”
This article originally appeared in the Aug. 19-25, 2021, print edition of The Two River Times.
