Why Does Your Child’s Math Performance Drop in Secondary School? 3 Major...

袋鼠姐姐

Why Does Your Child’s Math Performance Drop in Secondary School? 3 Major Challenges Parents Must Know!

Why Do Some Students Struggle with Math in Secondary School?

Why does a student who scored AL1 in PSLE Math suddenly find it difficult to keep up in secondary school?

Why do they do well on homework but struggle in exams?

Why do they say they understand everything in class but don’t know how to tackle difficult questions?

Why do they attend tuition classes but see little improvement in their results?

Recently, we’ve received messages from parents asking about the challenges their students face after entering secondary school.

In fact, this is not an isolated issue. As teachers, we have seen many students encounter similar difficulties.

So, what exactly is causing this?

Today, based on insights from our secondary school math teachers at Kangaroo Study, we’ll explore the three biggest challenges Singaporean students commonly face in Sec 1 Math—and how to overcome them.

Three difficulties in Secondary One Mathematics

1. Algebra is difficult to learn

For children in Secondary One, the first difficulty is the study of algebra. There are three reasons for the difficulty of learning algebra.

1) Too many formulas to remember

Different from the "Model method" used in primary school. Just in the algebra of Form 1, each different knowledge point will have a corresponding formula, so the number of formulas has increased significantly.

The following table shows the formulas needed for algebra simplification and factorization in Form 1:

2) Memorization is Insufficient, Application is Equally Important

Students finally memorized the formula, but when they were doing the questions, they found that they didn't know how to apply the formula...

For example, the formula for factorization seems simple, and only requires extracting common factors, but many students can't find the common factors, or extract them incompletely, resulting in failure in solving the problem.

Below is a student's process of doing a problem. When extracting the common factor, the extraction is incomplete, and the common factor of the last two coefficients is not extracted

2. Discovering Problems too Late

Another common challenge is that many students do not have a solid grasp of certain knowledge points, and this problem is often discovered late, even until Secondary 3 or 4. The reasons are as follows:

1)        Large Differences in the Learning Environment

After the PSLE ​​exam, the students entered different learning environments, and these differences are striking.

The following is a description of a NUSH student.

In less than two months, NUSH has begun to learn inequalities and Venn diagrams, which are knowledge points in the second half of Secondary 1 or even Secondary 2.

Another IP school, Dunman High, only examines the first two chapters of the textbook in WA1.

The difference in pace between different schools is very large. This gap will cause some students to be exposed to more difficult knowledge points later, so the time to discover problems is particularly late.

2)        The Difficulty of the Questions in School is Low

Not just the pace, but for the same knowledge point, the difficulty of many schools is not enough.

Taking the substitution problem in algebra as an example, the first picture below is the question of the Methodist Girls’ School mid-year exam:

And the picture below is the question of RI’s first semester WA1 exam:

Also testing substitution, RI tests much more complex expressions, and students have to think more when solving problems.

Students in many schools only practice basic questions in textbooks, but in the end, no matter which Secondary School they come from, they have to take the same O-Level exam, and the difficulty of the O-Level exam is much higher than the textbook; when the O-Level exam is approaching, it is too late to do difficult questions.

3)       Strong correlation of middle school knowledge

The knowledge in Secondary School is closely linked. If the basic concepts are not well understood at the beginning, you will encounter problems when learning more difficult knowledge points later.

The following figure is a function question in the 2019 O-Level exam:

This question requires us to mark the intersection of the graph and the coordinate axis; and finding the intersection of the graph and the coordinate axis is actually the application of finding the root of the quadratic function; and when finding the root, you need to pay attention to the positive and negative signs, which involves the foundation of algebra, numbers.

The knowledge structure of Secondary School is like a pyramid, which is getting deeper and more complex; if the foundation is not solid enough, and the knowledge points at the beginning are not learned thoroughly, when you learn more advanced content in Secondary 3 and 4, you will find that problems emerge in an endless stream.

3. Insufficient learning methods

Finally, many students lack good learning habits and methods when facing the study of Secondary School knowledge.

1)        Lack of preview

The number of knowledge points in Secondary 1 increases, but time is limited, so revision is particularly important. If you just follow the school's progress, students are easily occupied by various subjects and activities and cannot check their mastery in time or practice more challenging questions, which ultimately leads to insufficient in-depth and solid learning.

2)        Unable to Organize Notes and Corrections

In addition, understanding the knowledge points is crucial, so organizing notes and correction books after class is the key.

Many students just mechanically copy notes, lack deep thinking, and can't understand them when reviewing, which affects their learning efficiency. The same is true for the sorting of corrections. Many students just copy questions and steps without in-depth reflection, and ultimately it is difficult to achieve real progress.

Lack of good study habits and effective learning methods is the third challenge faced by students in the first year of Secondary School.

How Should We Tackle These Three Major Challenges?

1. How to Truly Master Secondary School Knowledge?

1.1 Understand Concepts and Ask “Why”

This may sound simple, but it’s often overlooked by both students and schools. Many teachers write down formulas for students to copy, but students don’t actually grasp the reasoning behind them. Some schools even distribute lecture notes and leave students to study on their own. Without a solid understanding, students will inevitably struggle when applying their knowledge.

That’s why students should actively think while learning, rather than passively absorbing information. For every concept, they should ask themselves, “Why is it like this?” and develop a habit of questioning.

Teachers, on the other hand, should introduce concepts by first explaining “what it is” before diving into details.

For example, when teaching the concept of negative numbers, many teachers fail to explain it clearly, leading students to mistakenly associate negative numbers with “less, lacking, or low.” However, this is incorrect. Negative and positive numbers represent quantities with opposite meanings, and depending on the context, negative numbers can also indicate “increase” or “more.” Only when students fully grasp the concept can they apply it confidently in problem-solving.

The teacher is guiding students to understand the concepts and gradually arrive at the answers.

At Kangaroo Study, our teachers follow a strict “What is it?” → “Why is it?” → “How to apply it?” approach when designing lesson materials. Each concept is introduced through carefully crafted examples, explaining its meaning, importance, and practical applications to ensure students truly grasp the knowledge.

1.2 Apply knowledge points to improve proficiency

After understanding the knowledge, children need to learn to use it flexibly, and the key to doing this is a lot of practice. This kind of practice is not enough to do once a week, but needs to be practiced every day, day after day, to consolidate the proficiency of the knowledge points.

Kangaroo.Study's handouts will include 6-7 real questions from famous schools or SMO. In addition, after each class's handouts, there will be exercises for the course content as homework to help students consolidate and deepen their understanding of the knowledge they have learned.

In addition, to help everyone test their knowledge mastery, we set up pre-class and post-class tests for each class to test students' knowledge mastery of the previous class and the current class respectively.

In addition to the homework after each class, we will also assign a "daily practice" to the children every day to help them consolidate their knowledge and maintain a continuous learning state.

In addition, in order to ensure that students really understand the knowledge points, we also have a "special homework: - Explanation homework.

Students need to explain a question to their parents like a teacher, so as to ensure a thorough grasp of a knowledge point.

2. How to overcome the impact of the learning environment and achieve good results in the O-Level exams?

There is only one method: learn deeply and learn challenging content.

Different schools have different curriculums and difficulty levels, so students shouldn’t be content with just the difficulty of school textbooks. After building a solid foundation, they must continually challenge themselves by working on past papers from top schools or even SMO problems.

At Kangaroo Study, the secondary school curriculum is designed with this goal in mind, incorporating many real past questions from top schools and SMO:

The inclusion of these questions is not to artificially increase the difficulty but because students are fully capable of mastering them. Many students lack confidence and are intimidated by questions like those from SMO, but once they master the foundational knowledge, they will realize that these so-called SMO questions are not difficult at all.

Exposing students to challenging problems ahead of time helps them fully prepare, laying a solid foundation for achieving good results in the O-Level exams.

3. How to cultivate good study habits and methods amidst a busy academic schedule?

1) Study in Advance

When students enter Secondary 1, they face new knowledge, a new environment, and new challenges. Many students feel there isn’t enough time. So, what should they do?

The answer: Study in Advance!

Parents should help students make full use of their holiday time to study the knowledge points and build a solid foundation. This will allow more time for further exploration later.

Once the habit of advance study is formed, students will find that while others are struggling with school exercises, those who have studied in advance will have more time to dive into deeper and more advanced topics.

2) Organize notes and reflect on mistakes

Another good habit is organizing notes and reviewing mistakes.

When organizing notes, students should categorize them based on knowledge points. Notes for the same topic should be grouped together so that review sessions can be more efficient.

Organizing mistakes is not just about copying the questions and solutions.

First, students should solve mistakes independently.

Then, they need to take time to reflect on why the mistake was made and summarize the reasoning. Only then is the mistake properly organized.

Additionally, students should repeatedly work on the mistakes. Once they have mastered a concept, they can remove it from their mistake book. An effective mistake book should go through a process of becoming thick and then becoming thin.

Kangaroo.Study Secondary School Curriculum Overview

1. Curriculum Outline

Kangaroo Study adopts a “Pre-course + Concurrent Expansion” teaching system to help students improve their learning effectiveness and excel in secondary school mathematics.

2. Teacher Team Overview

Cao Kenan

China Math Olympiad Gold Medal Coach

In 2022, Cao Kenan coached 16 students who performed excellently in the NMOS competition, with 4 students winning gold, 8 silver, and one student achieving the Asian first place in the IMSO competition. Several students entered Singapore’s top institutions through DSA, such as NUS High, Raffles Institution, and Hwa Chong Institution.

In 2023, all 10 students in his Exploration Class advanced to the second round of SMO, with 6 entering the Top 30 and 4 into the Top 10. In 2024, 19 students in the Exploration Class advanced to the second round of SMO, with 10 in the Top 30, 3 in the Top 10, and 16 entering the Junior Training Team. Notably, Yang Yihan won the only Singapore Gold Medal at the 2024 IMO and ranked 14th globally.

Gao Xuming

Graduated from Wuhan University, S-Level (highest level) Teacher at Fangtian Education. He is the Head of Secondary Mathematics at Kangaroo Study, responsible for ensuring teaching quality across all grades. Gao is highly familiar with O & A-Level mathematics courses and the problem-setting patterns of various competitions.

In 2023, 10 of his students advanced to the second round of the SMO Junior competition, with several students making it to the Junior Training Team.

Jeremiah Ang

Graduated from the University at Buffalo. He is an experienced educator and the Head of Primary to Secondary School Transition at Kangaroo Study. Jeremiah specializes in teaching Secondary 1 courses, bringing expertise in identifying common learning difficulties among students and offering tailored strategies to improve them.

Zhang Wenlong

Graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University, majoring in English. Zhang has rich teaching experience in both mathematics and English, and he advocates for guided teaching to encourage students to think independently and improve their logical thinking skills.

3. Parent Feedback

Through Kangaroo Study’s secondary school teaching, we have received tremendous recognition and positive feedback from parents.

4. Term 1 Course Schedule

S1 Term 1 Schedule

Format: In-person classes

Location: #02-12, 601 MacPherson Road, Grantral Mall, Grantral Complex, 368242

5. Course Fees

No hidden fees: No registration fees, no textbook fees, no deposit, no binding, and fast refunds. In case of a schedule conflict, remaining sessions are refundable. This policy ensures parents’ peace of mind and demonstrates our confidence in the course quality.

6. Enrollment Method

To book an admission test, interested parents can scan the QR code above to contact Zhang Wenlong or Jeremiah Ang.

Zhang Wenlong

Jeremiah Ang