According to their websites, after-school tutoring programs like Kumon, Russian School of Mathematics (RSM) and Mathnasium claim to “establish a pattern of academic success,” “spark critical thinking,” “empower students to achieve excellence” and “build self-confidence.” But how effective are these programs in the eyes of UPA students? 

Based on the results of a survey sent to all grade levels, 68.2% of UPA students have participated in an out-of-school educational program. These students rated their overall experiences learning at these programs a 2.6/5 on average. 

“I didn’t love it because even though I think I did get better at fast math, I found it tedious,” sophomore Pranav Nigam said about his experience at Kumon. “I didn’t like not learning new concepts.”

Nigam participated in the Kumon math program for six to twelve months in middle school, as well as RSM for two years following his withdrawal from Kumon. Though he rated his experience between both programs 4/5, he feels his experience at RSM was much more positive. 

“I enjoyed learning concepts a little bit before we got to them in school,” Nigam said. “I thought that they were generally good at challenging me.”

Despite rating their overall experiences with after-school education companies somewhat low, on average, students gave their respective programs a 3.9/5 for being helpful in preparing them for in-school math classes. Nigam rated the helpfulness of the programs he participated in, particularly RSM, a 5/5.

“Learning two different ways helps you understand the concept better,” Nigam said. “Sometimes RSM goes into more detail on a specific part of it, while school might go into more detail on a different part, but both can aid your understanding.”

The most popular of educational programs is Kumon, followed by RSM, then Mathnasium and other smaller schools. Kumon students, making up 52.8% of students in after-school education programs, on average rated their experience a 2.3/5, and its helpfulness a 3.8/5. Kumon offers reading tutoring as well as math, which is an aspect RSM and Mathnasium don’t have. For students interested in only math, the monthly tuition is $159 and for both subjects, the monthly tuition is $314. 

“I’m not sure if I would recommend Kumon,” Nigam said. “If people specifically want to improve their mental math skills, then it might be good.”

Nigam began his education at Kumon with an entrance diagnostic to assess his proficiency in different math topics. Then, he began practicing basic arithmetic skills moving from addition to subtraction to multiplication to division, with increasingly larger numbers. 

“I think it overall was helpful because it improves your mental math,” Nigam said. “It just depends on if you enjoy it and have time for it.”

RSM students, making up 32.6% of after-school education programs, rated their experience on average a 2.4/5, and its helpfulness a 4.2/5. RSM’s tuition is dependent on grade level, hours in class per week and the type of math being studied (see graphic below). 

“I’ve heard a lot of people say they dislike RSM,” Nigam said. “I think I might have had a better teacher than other people. I had the same teacher both years and he was good.”

At RSM, students are assigned to a particular teacher based on their grade in school, their level in RSM and general scheduling. The class sizes are about 10 to 15 students per teacher, a group that meets once a week for about three hours. The class follows a curriculum based on the unit they are learning, then students are assigned homework, just like in school. 

“I just enjoyed being with other people who wanted to excel at math and challenge themselves,” Nigam said. 

Nigam ended up quitting RSM because of the substantial time commitment, but feels it provided him a foundation for math skills useful in school. He would recommend RSM to students interested in math or STEM related fields to help them be successful in school. 

“An important aspect to excel at school is to be interested in learning, rather than just getting a good grade,” Nigam said. “That means following along in class and trying to understand the topic rather than just doing the work.” 

In general, he advises students to pay attention in class, not skip out on classwork and homework, put in time and effort, ask for help when needed and try to understand what topics mean instead of just listening to them and/or memorizing them. 

“I think [academic success] is learning things that you want to learn and feeling like you can achieve more in life as a result of what you learned,” Nigam said.

Mathnasium, the third most popular program, was chosen by 12.3% of students who have participated in after-school education programs. These students rated their experience a 3.2/5 on average, and its helpfulness a 3.6/5 on average. Depending on the payment plan chosen (three, six or twelve months), Mathnasium’s tuition is $250-400 a month. Former Mathnasium student and freshman Serena Garcia rated her personal experience a 2/5, and the helpfulness of the program a 1/5. She feels that Mathnasium’s program was not helpful to her because the work she was given was not related to what she was learning at school. When she first entered the program, she was given a test to see where she was at in her math skills, and the worksheets she was given from there were determined by what she got wrong on the test. 

“I didn’t grow from any of [the curriculum],” Garcia said. 

Now, she has a private tutor who helps her with the curriculum she is actually learning in school. She believes working with this tutor has allowed her to be much more successful in her classes. To Garcia, academic success is defined by each individual, but hard work can help them get there. 

10.1% of students enrolled in educational programs chose other companies like Sylvan, Afficient Academy and Engenius. Eighth grader Nitya Swaroop studies with an online program called Cuemath. She has rated her experience a 2/5, because like many students, the prospect of doing extra math after school is less than appealing. However, she rated the helpfulness of this program a 4/5 because she recognizes her improvement in math as a result. 

“This is really just a tutoring program where you get extra help on what you’re doing at school, and you just go a little deeper in,” Swaroop said. “It does really help me with my math class at school, and my grade shows that.”

Swaroop meets with her teacher twice a week for an hour through an online call. In the program, students tell their teacher what they are working on in school math class and can receive help on specific topics or problems. Then, students are assigned a unit of Cuemath curriculum based on the student’s school curriculum, which includes extra practice worksheets. Students can figure out a schedule that works for them to submit their worksheets with their Cuemath teacher. Swaroop has had three teachers during her two years as a part of the program. It seems that the teachers are hit-or-miss, as her first teacher was a bit flakey and her second often fell asleep during their video calls. However, she likes working with her current teacher and feels Cuemath is a good program. 

“I have to admit it,” Swaroop said. “It helps, but I hate it.”

She thinks that for students to do well in school, they must get the help they need and speak up when they don’t understand something. Swaroop sets high expectations for herself, always striving for an A+. She feels that true academic success comes from understanding everything being taught and having confidence in the subject matter. 

“You have to have the motivation to be academically successful,” Swaroop said. “It’s something that you need to put in. It’s not talent that just comes. You have to put in the work.”

As mentioned in Garcia’s situation, another option for students hoping to improve their academic performance is private tutoring. 6.7% of UPA students chose this option, rating their experience a 3.6/5 on average, and its helpfulness a 4.6/5 on average. Of all tutoring options, personal tutoring was rated the highest in both experience and helpfulness, however, it can be very costly. According to Care.com, as of April 2025, the average cost to hire a private tutor is $30.17 an hour. To put this into perspective, if a student were to meet with their private tutor for two hours, twice a week, their monthly tuition would be $482.72, making it the most costly of tutoring services. 

Senior Andrew Huang began his afterschool tutoring journey at Afficient Academy, a program that has its students meet in person to complete units and practice problems on the computer, while tutors walk around and provide help as needed. The units assigned to each student are dependent on what they are learning in school. For example, a student going into calculus would learn topics like derivatives and integrals. After getting a certain amount of problems correct, each student receives points that can then be redeemed for rewards like snacks.

“It’s a good concept, a reward-based system,” Huang said. “You are actually learning, but you’re also getting rewarded.”

While at Afficient Academy, Huang began working with one of the tutors employed there after-hours for additional help. However, when the pandemic hit, he quit the program at Afficient Academy and began working with that tutor full time. His tutor was able to help him with curriculum from his IM3+, AP Calculus AB and AP Calculus BC classes. He would come to their meetings with specific problems he needed help with, and after helping him with those problems, the tutor would find related practice problems. Huang worked with this tutor from eighth to eleventh grade, when he was referred to a different tutor that could help him with harder topics like physics, linear algebra and multivariable calculus.

“If there’s any specific help I need, I just ask, and it’s almost instant answers,” Huang said. 

Afficient Academy’s monthly tuition is $190, which is a stark contrast to Huang’s tutor’s rate of $50 an hour. He met with his tutor three times a week for one and a half to two hours, making his monthly tuition with his private tutor $900-1200. This is the price of practice, something Huang feels is very beneficial for doing well in school, especially math classes. 

“The more problems you face, the more you’re going to understand the different methods to solve it,” Huang said. “Also, you get more familiar with it, so it comes more naturally. When it comes to the test, the pressure doesn’t really affect you, you just know how to do it.”

However, students who have learned with these kinds of programs are not all that different from students who haven’t. Of students who have been enrolled in after-school programs, 90.8% reported having a GPA between 3.5-4.0, and 5.3% reported having a GPA between 3.0-3.5. Whereas, of students who haven’t been enrolled in after-school programs, 87.2% reported having a GPA between 3.5-4.0, and 7.7% reported having a GPA between 3.0-3.5. Students who have received outside of school education rated their satisfaction with their academic success 3.9/5 on average. Students who have not received such education rated their satisfaction with their academic success 3.7/5 on average. 

One student who hasn’t participated in any after-school tutoring, but has still achieved academic success and satisfaction is sophomore David Marshall. He is able to excel in school because he began hands-on learning from a young age. His parents have always encouraged him and his sister to be academically focused and enrolled them in a magnet elementary school. As a kid, Marshall watched educational TV shows on PBS Kids and YouTube channels like Oversimplified, Veritasium and Mark Rober. Now, he makes sure to pay attention in class and go over what his teachers say to maintain his good grades. 

“If you ever need help, just ask because usually [teachers] are really willing to give support,” Marshall said. 

While after-school math programs have the potential to help students excel in school, they are not necessary. There are many free online and in-person resources available to students like Khan Academy, Learn It Tutoring and office hours that can help them become the best student they can be.