What is the primary goal of a Math Recovery Specialist?

• A. Intervene before these at-risk students fall too far behind their peers along with finding ways to support parents and classroom educators.
• B. Develop a high-level, general math curriculum for all topics.
• C. Administer weekly standardized tests.
• D. Focus only on arithmetic facts.

Answer: (A)

Early, targeted intervention for students who are falling behind in math, combined with coordinating support from parents and classroom teachers, is the primary goal of a Math Recovery Specialist. This role centers on quickly identifying specific gaps in foundational math understanding—like number sense and basic concepts—and delivering individualized, evidence-based strategies to help students catch up. By partnering with families and teachers, the specialist helps ensure the same approaches are used across tutoring, classroom instruction, and home practice, creating a consistent support system. The other options miss this focus: developing a broad general curriculum isn’t the specialist’s job; administering ongoing standardized tests isn’t their main role; and concentrating only on arithmetic facts ignores the broader conceptual foundations that drive true math fluency.