Last week I was asked to contribute to the Room for Debate discussion site on The Opinion Pages of the New York Times.  On a nearly daily basis, Room for Debate posses a questions, and solicits contributions from four or five individuals.  The Room for Debate topics that I contributed to was entitled “Why are more students relying on tutors in science and mathematics?”

Terry Tang, one of the editors for Room for Debate discussions introduced the tutoring in math and science issue as follows:

A generation ago, after-school tutoring was fairly rare. That’s changed. More students now seem to need professional help to keep up with the instruction, especially in math and science courses. Tutoring centers, like Kumon, are proliferating. Affluent parents can pay for private tutors, while in some lower-income districts, publicly financed programs offer after-school instruction.

What has changed in teaching approaches or the curriculum that causes more students to seek tutoring? Are science and math courses being taught at too advanced a level?

Seven contributors explored the issue, and provided initial content for the discussion. You can read comments here, and add to the discussion as well.