Is math intervention at the middle school level important? I believe it is (I’m a math consultant, after all), and the following story does a great job of explaining why.
I was recently working with a group of middle school math teachers, and I led the conversation with one of my favorite questions, “How do you support students who are struggling in math?”
I received the typical responses of:
All of these are fairly common strategies that I expected to hear, but what I wasn’t expecting to hear was the comment from a former 3rd grade teacher who said, “Very little.” This teacher elaborated by saying that, at the elementary level, they do actual intervention work where they identify gaps in their understanding and target those gaps with lessons provided by an interventionist.
The conversation evolved into whether helping students with homework above their actual math-level was helpful, or whether students even gave a full amount of effort when working on the computer-based programs. The teacher had a point and made me reflect on how I view math intervention.
In my 25 years in education, I’ve come up with some fun analogies to describe what we do in education - like how math intervention is like Jenga. Students have some gaps at the bottom of their math content knowledge that need to be filled, or their math experiences in high school will be limited. Intervention goes back to where those gaps started and reteaches that content so the piece can be put back - allowing for a more solid math foundation when entering high school.
That former 3rd grade teacher had a point: we often do stop authentic research-based gap-filling math intervention at the elementary level. But why? We could answer that with another question: “What math intervention programs exist at the elementary, middle, and high school levels?” You can probably easily list at least four or five at the elementary level but will struggle to find anything non-computerized at the middle or high school levels.
Going back to our original question of whether the idea of math intervention is important, consider these six thoughts on how it helps bridge learning gaps:
Middle school math concepts (fractions, ratios, algebraic thinking) are foundational for high school math. Struggling students who don’t receive support may fall further behind, making advanced math much harder.
Math struggles often lead to anxiety and low confidence. Targeted intervention helps students develop a positive relationship with math, fostering a growth mindset.
STEM careers and many non-STEM fields require strong math skills. Early intervention ensures students have the necessary skills for high school courses, college, and career paths.
Many middle schoolers have lingering gaps from elementary school (e.g., weak number sense, difficulty with fractions). Intervention helps solidify these skills before high school.
Not all students learn at the same pace. Effective interventions use differentiated instruction, hands-on learning, and engaging strategies to meet diverse student needs.
Approaches like Building Thinking Classrooms by Peter Liljedahl and the Math Practice Standards emphasize problem-solving, collaboration, and critical thinking—skills interventions can reinforce.
I’m going to leave you with two questions to consider:
If you said “yes” to either (or both), let us know! We’d love to share how we can help support student readiness in Math and STEM.