National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) long-term trend assessment data from the 2022-23 school year revealed significant declines in math, with average scores being 9 points lower than in 2020 and 14 points lower than a decade ago. How can teachers and schools help students catch up when it matters most?
Math interventions are frequently referenced in tandem with improving student outcomes and boosting achievement, but what exactly are interventions, and what do they entail?
What are math intervention strategies?
Math interventions aim to improve student math outcomes through targeted support. Whether initiated by a teacher or at a grade or school-wide level, instructional interventions are intentional, specific, and flexible efforts to address academic needs. Since no two learners are the same, math interventions are generally tailored to the needs of individual students or small groups.
Interventions for math are often incorporated into Response to Intervention (RTI), a three-tiered model of support that uses research-based academic interventions.
- All students receive high-quality classroom instruction (Tier 1).
- Students needing additional support may receive targeted interventions through Tier 2 instruction, often in small-group settings.
- Tier 3 interventions are for students considered at-risk and include intensive and individualized practice.
What are examples of math interventions for students?
Research from the
Institute of Education Sciences and What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) identified core evidence-based math intervention strategies to help meet students' needs and increase achievement. Examples include systematic instruction, teaching with clear mathematical language, incorporating concrete representations, using number lines, providing word problem practice, and including timed activities to build fluency in math.
WWC also outlined eight intervention recommendations for math remediation detection, prevention, and support. These include:
- Screen students to identify those at-risk
- Provide in-depth practice for whole numbers and rational numbers
- Use explicit and systematic instruction
- Include word problem practice
- Allow students to work with visual representations of mathematical concepts
- Devote at least ten minutes in each session to the retrieval of basic arithmetic facts
- Monitor student progress regularly
- Encourage students with motivational strategies
But how do these best practices become a reality in the classroom? Intervention looks different in every school, but targeted, evidence-based practice often occurs through:
- Small group instruction
- Leveled math centers
- Differentiated practice and homework
- Individualized and one-on-one instruction
- Targeted online math practice
With advances in edtech, teachers can lean on adaptive learning to provide individualized instruction to an entire class of students simultaneously. Plus, tech-based tools often include built-in progress monitoring and assessments to track the impact of math intervention programs more accurately, allowing teachers to adjust instruction for further remediation. For example, ExploreLearning Reflex provides adaptive and game-based math fact practice to help students develop a critical foundation of fluency.
Built on a fact family approach, Reflex transforms the math landscape by using a variety of explicit strategies to introduce new facts, including the commutative property, rule-based patterns, and visual models. As a student progresses through game-based instruction, Reflex continuously adjusts the difficulty of math fact retrieval based on individual progress, providing an adequate level of challenge within each child’s current ability limits.
The impact of Reflex intervention programs
Reflex uses research-based practices for enhanced proficiency and math fact mastery. The best part? Reflex is fun! Students stay engaged and motivated through gamified coaching and practice games, personalization, and rewards for effort and progress.
All students can experience math success with Reflex. As an RTI solution, Reflex supports Tiers 1, 2, and 3 of instruction to help students achieve significant progress (and increased confidence!) in little time. Regardless of fall baseline measurements and across all achievement levels, students who used Reflex with high fidelity outscored their peers. These students also showed significantly higher growth on NWEA MAP Growth assessments and a greater likelihood of meeting or exceeding growth benchmarks.
In Plano, Texas, math specialist Andrea Bergener began using Reflex for math interventions to help students develop fluency in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Bergener spoke about her students’ frequent Reflex usage at a national conference. “I highlighted Reflex as a tool that I use in collaboration with classroom teachers to support fact fluency,” she said. Bergener also shared how she used the various Reflex student data reports to monitor progress and the effectiveness of interventions over time.
Using Reflex for math intervention and beyond
Reflex’s evidence-based solution meets students where they are to help them increase confidence and fluency. Thanks to easy implementation and professional development, teachers and students can get started with Reflex in no time and start experiencing growth.
Discover how Reflex can impact your math intervention programs today!