6-12 Math Intervention Programs

If you’re tasked with setting up or improving a middle school math intervention program or Algebra intervention program in high school, you already know it’s one of the most challenging puzzles in education. How do we catch kids up while keeping them moving forward?

Before we can even talk about specific curriculum recommendations, we have to start with the foundational framework that can be used with an program or curriculum and that’s the BREAK It Math Intervention Framework detailed in my book and my digital PD program.

But for this post, let’s talk about the reality of scheduling, curriculum, and what actually makes intervention math programs work in a 6-12 setting.

The Two Models: Just in Case vs. Just in Time

First, we need to understand that there are essentially two different models of intervention: Just in Case and Just in Time.

I’ve written extensively about the differences between the two in this blog post, but the short version is this: Just in Case tries to teach everything a student might have missed over the last few years, hoping they'll eventually need it. Just in Time provides the exact prerequisite skills a student needs right now to access this week's grade level content. 

If you want research based math intervention programs you have to lean heavily into the Just in Time model. Why? Because the secret to effective intervention is coherence to the grade level core math class. If the intervention doesn't connect to what's happening in their main math class, students fall further behind. For a fantastic read (and the research) on why this matters, I highly recommend checking out TNTP's Coherence by Design.

Scenario 1: The Once or Twice a Week Reality Check

I see this all the time in middle schools: students are pulled for math intervention once or twice a week for about 30 minutes during some kind of flex time. Sometimes it’s with a math teacher, sometimes it’s with a history teacher who has never had any instruction on how to teach math (seriously, I’ve seen this before).

I want to be completely real with administrators here—that is not enough time to be effective. We cannot expect to change academic trajectories or close multi year learning gaps in 30 to 60 minutes a week.

If this is the setting you are currently in, your primary goal needs to shift. In that tiny amount of time, the absolute best thing you can do is ensure those kids have a positive experience in math class. Build their confidence, play math games that reinforce fluency, and help them rebuild their mathematical identity. Don't stress about overhauling their skills—focus on their mindset. Chapters 1-3 of my book lay out exactly how to do this well.

Scenario 2: The Double Block

Now let's talk about the ideal setup: a schedule where students have their regular core math class and an additional intervention period that meets every single day.

This is my preferred math intervention method because it allows kids to get the crucial grade level content in their core class, while actively working on their Just in Time interventions in their extra class.

Here is how I like to structure that 5-day intervention week:

• 2 Days a Week: Foundational Skills. This is where you address those deeper gaps (like basic fraction operations or fact fluency). This blog post has helpful ideas.

• 3 Days a Week: Staircase Content. This is pure Just in Time intervention designed to lead them straight into their core class. This blog post gives you an example of what a Just in Time staircase might look like in secondary math.

  
  

How Staircase Content Works in Practice with Coherence

Let’s say the core math teacher is preparing to start a unit on linear functions in 8th grade next week.

This week, the intervention teacher uses their three "staircase" days to prepare the students. They might work on plotting points on the coordinate plane and discussing proportional relationships. But because they did that building in their intervention class, when those students walk into their core class on Monday, they have the Just in Time skills they need to access that high quality, grade level instructional resource.

Scenario 3: The Core Teacher With Many Students Below Grade Level

Let’s talk about the most common scenario: you are a core math teacher with a lot of students who struggle, and they didn't get placed in an intervention class—or your school simply doesn't offer one. You are the vast majority of teachers looking for math intervention materials.

In this case, your best strategy is Just in Time planning. Ahead of each of your units, you need to map out the prerequisites and actively build in time to fill those specific skills before introducing the new grade level content. 

But what about those deep foundational gaps? If you are wondering how to help them with their basic foundations without losing days of instruction, my answer is warm ups. Number sense routine warm ups are incredible for this. You can do them every single day, they take no more than 5 to 10 minutes, and they allow you to continuously work on foundations while keeping the bulk of your class time focused on the trajectory toward grade level content. You can get a full year of daily spiral math intervention warm ups here. 

The High Quality Curriculum Catch-22

This brings us to a massive structural problem in math education, and it requires us to work backward and look at how curriculums are rated.

In order for a curriculum to earn a "high quality" rating (and subsequently get adopted by districts), the materials actually cannot focus on prior grade level standards. If they did, they wouldn't get the rating. This means textbook companies have their hands tied. They cannot provide the built in "staircases" and prerequisite lessons that we, as teachers, know our kids desperately need.

Because of this Catch-22, I have two very specific messages:

To the Administrators: Whenever I hear an admin say, "You have to teach this new million-dollar curriculum with strict fidelity," my skin crawls. Doing that does not meet kids where they are. If you have a lot of students who are struggling, an out-of-the-box HQIM (High Quality Instructional Materials) alone will never reach them. You must allow your teachers to supplement with materials that span prior grades.

To the Teachers: I need you to hear me say this—we cannot spend forever on the staircase. We cannot spend weeks stuck on prior grade level concepts and prerequisites and never give students access to grade level standards. You have to cover that staircase content quickly, and then you must move on to your HQIM. If you only use supplemental resources, you will never hit the rigor of your actual grade level - and our students who struggle need that and can do it!

Recommended Math Intervention Curriculum

Because an effective intervention program needs to do two things simultaneously—be responsive to exactly where kids are and be coherent with your core curriculum—it is incredibly hard to find a pre-made, Just in Time program out of the box.

Some math intervention programs are paired with their core curriculum, like Math Links Core and Math Links Essentials, but most seem to be on separate trajectories. 

However, you can adjust the programs your school has already adopted to make them coherent. Here is how you can hack a few popular platforms:

• IXL: If you make your just in time intervention plan, you can use IXL to build those prerequisite steps because you can assign skills across multiple grade levels and it’s organized skill by skill which gives you ultimate flexibility for your personalized just in time approach. Pro Tip: If you have a paid account, you can actually hide the grade levels from the students! This prevents an 8th grader from feeling defeated when they see they are working on a 6th-grade skill.

• ALEKS, Math 180, and iReady: The trick with these robust programs is to be flexible with them. You don't have to use them in the exact order they are presented. If Unit 2 in your core curriculum is all about Proportions, you create your just in time intervention plan, and then match ALEKS, Math 180, or iReady to the staircase you know your kids need.

  
  

But let me say one thing about digital math intervention programs.

While digital math intervention online programs are the norm these days, they are not my preference for intervention. Namely because we know that when students with math anxiety encounter numbers, the fear center in their brain is activated. Once that fear center is activated students go into flight or fight mode and struggle to recall, retain, and problem solve. When intervention students are met with an overwhelming digital program filled with numbers and all the content they’ve missed along their education journey and no teacher, flight or fight seems inevitable. I strongly believe that the best types of intervention programs utilize YOU the teacher - and a just in time approach to planning. Consider using the programs listed above, but just the teacher component and skip the individual computer time all together.

And honestly, that is exactly why my husband and I created the Math Activity Generator. We built this software specifically so you can pull from all grade levels—from 6th grade all the way through Algebra 1—to build exactly what your students need.

Here is the most important part: it is not a digital program where kids just sit on computers.

Math Activity Generator is a tool for teachers to generate highly engaging, printable activities. It allows you to create that essential "staircase" content tailored to exactly where your kids are at. And because your students' needs change every single year, your intervention materials can change with them.

With a few clicks, you can generate:

• Scavenger hunts to get them out of their seats and moving around the room.

• Task cards for focused, station-based practice.

• Cut-and-paste activities to get them collaborating and working with a partner.

• Custom lesson slides that meet your exact instructional needs for the day.

When you register for a Pro Teacher License you’ll not just access to the Math Activity Generator, you’ll also get access to done-for-you just in time staircases linked with generator content for 6th through Algebra 1 (only available on Pro or Premium licenses, not the basic Generator only license) [registration opens soon]

The Bottom Line

Because of all these factors—primarily the strict requirements for High Quality Instructional Resources and the need for coherence—there is simply no single, out-of-the-box math intervention curriculum I can universally recommend right now.

What I can recommend is a shift in strategy. By advocating for supplemental time, rethinking how you use the tech programs your school already pays for, and utilizing flexible tools to build your own engaging staircases, you can create a just in time intervention system that actually works for your students.