Special Report
Special Education Video

How Early Intervention and Tutoring Helped One Student With Dyscalculia

By Jaclyn Borowski — October 7, 2024 2:15
Dyscalculia 6 BS

For Tessa Marshall, those things that often come easy to kids—numbers, colors, shapes, tying their shoes—were always a challenge.

In 3rd grade, she was diagnosed with dyscalculia and transferred to a Montessori school where the opportunity to learn individually with a teacher, and in a group of students in 1st through 3rd grades, helped her catch up. Now a freshman in high school, she continues to receive math tutoring twice a week for her honors geometry class.

Here, she discusses what she wishes teachers knew not only about dyscalculia, but also about teaching students with the learning disability.

Jaclyn Borowski is the director of photography and videography for Education Week.

Video

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A 5th grade student attends a math lesson during class at Mount Vernon Community School, in Alexandria, Va., on May 1, 2024.
A 5th grade student attends a math lesson during class at Mount Vernon Community School, in Alexandria, Va., on May 1, 2024.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Special Education Video The Relationship Between Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, and Math Anxiety
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A 4th grader writes her group's lyrics in Chevonne Dixon's home room class at Tunica Elementary School in Tunica, Miss., on Dec. 16, 2018. Dixon is one of the first teachers in the state to incorporate the Mississippi Blues Trail Curriculum into lessons for science, math, social studies and English.
A 4th grader writes her group's lyrics in Chevonne Dixon's home room class at Tunica Elementary School in Tunica, Miss., on Dec. 16, 2018. Dixon is one of the first teachers in the state to incorporate the Mississippi Blues Trail Curriculum into lessons for science, math, social studies and English.
Rogelio V. Solis/AP