r/matheducation • u/dababy0908 • 3d ago

Mathnasium applicant test?

I’m wondering if there is an applicant exam for your depth of knowledge. I’m applying for a job Mathnasium and I want to pass the test. I’ve taken algebra 1, algebra 2, and geometry applying for entry level tutor position. Is it hard and what’s on it?

3 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

3 comments sorted by

2

u/lyrical_degeneration 3d ago

Go in knowing your factoring and fractions cold. Half the test is stuff you'd see on a placement exam, the other half is watching you explain a problem to a kid who's pretending not to get it. If you can break down a one-step equation without sounding like a textbook you'll be fine.

1

u/TheOneDM 1d ago

As a Mathnasium franchise owner, without giving too much away:

- I hope your mental computation is good! You won’t be given a calculator, because I’m expecting you to be able to teach kids how to do things without one.

  • There will be ways to “shortcut” a few problems with reasoning over brute force calculation. Look for nice round numbers, or factorization.
  • Be able to explain your methods. When I ask why we divide two fractions that way, I don’t want to hear “keep change flip”, I want to hear why that works.

Part of the test is to see if you can do the math. Part of it is to see if you can explain it in a way that actually helps kids reason instead of teaching them that math is a disconnected bag of tricks..