FAQ

Kumon is an after-school math and reading program that employs a unique learning method designed to help each child develop the skills needed to perform to his or her full potential. It is also the largest and most established program of its kind in the world.

Is my child the right age for Kumon?

Children may enroll as young as three years old, and Kumon is attended by students throughout primary and secondary school. It’s always preferable to start young and begin developing skills early to get the greatest cumulative benefit, but children may enroll at any age.

Is Kumon an "enrichment program" or a "remedial program"?

Kumon can help children who may be struggling and need to catch up, as well as those who are seeking enrichment. Our ultimate goal is for all students to study above their school grade level, and to always have opportunities to reach their full potential.

How does Kumon differ from tutoring?

The Kumon Method facilitates self-acquisition of the skills and study habits needed to improve academic performance. This empowers children to succeed on their own, giving them a sense of accomplishment that fosters further achievement. A child who develops learning tools in this way may never have to rely on costly tutoring.

How much of a time commitment does Kumon require?

Students usually attend our center once a week, with an option of twice a week, and do brief daily assignments at home on all other days of the week. Daily assignments can usually be completed in less than twenty minutes, for math or reading. Daily parental home grading is strongly encouraged and recommended for optimal results.

Why is Kumon such an effective complement to my child's schooling?

Schools must cover material according to age or grade, and classes must advance as a group. Needless to say, not all children grasp all concepts at the same pace. Kumon allows the individual needs and abilities of each child to govern his or her own progress. That’s why Kumon students can perform at 100% of their potential.

Will Kumon conflict with classroom lesson plans?

Kumon supplements school curiculum. It does not replace classroom experience which is so important to a child's learning. The concepts introduced or reinforced in Kumon will help children gain proficiency in math and reading.

How soon will I see rests for my child from Kumon?

All parents come to Kumon eager to see results for their children, yet no two children advance through the program in the same way or at the same rate. Because Kumon's mission is not just to patch up a learning gap here and there but rather to maximize your child's potential, results may not come as quickly as initially anticipated. When you do begin to see results, however, they can be more dramatic and sustained than you ever imagined. Kumon goals are designed to accommodate all children in the program. Kumon students on average reach school grade level within a year and typically advance one-and-a-half grade levels each subsequent year. Working from a trouble-free starting point enables the child to progress rapidly from the outset and gain confidence and comfort with the program. As material advances, a steadier - if somewhat more gradual - rate of progress is established. Allowing children to develop core skills at their own pace sets the stage for achieving the goals you seek for them through Kumon. We ask parents to be patient and keep children enrolled long enough to reach this point - whether it takes six months, a year, or longer - before drawing conclusions about the efficacy of the program.

Is there data supporting the efficacy of Kumon?

Several studies have been conducted highlighting Kumon students' performance on standardized exams. Data from the Trends in International Mathmatics and Science Study show that fourth and eighth grade Kumon students scored above national and international averages in mathematics.

Does Kumon work with children with learning disabilities?

Children of all abilities, from preschool through high school, have flourished with Kumon. Since Kumon's programs are flexible and highly individualized, they can accomodate each child.

How long will it take my child to catch up to grade level?

All parents want to know when their child will catch up to grade level, but the answer is not simple. No two children advance in the same way or at the same rate. What's more, some consider a child "caught up" when he or she can perform today's schoolwork, even if skill gaps remain that may impede further progress. Kumon sees it differently. Our goal is your child's success. Kumon lets your child advance according to his or her own ability to progress through the material, rather than a pre-determined "catch-up" period. Goals set are never rigid, but are constantly fine-tuned as needed by the Kumon Instructor. It takes exactly as long as it needs to take to bring a child up to grade level with a full grasp of the material to date and a rock-solid foundation for further advancement. However, on average Kumon students reach school grade level within a year of enrolling in the program. Kumon students reach - and often surpass - grade level by working daily at their own pace, setting goals with their Kumon instructor, and developing tools to help them succeed now and later.

My child is caught up at school. Why stay with Kumon?

Many children stay enrolled in Kumon when they reach grade level and long afterward. In fact, some parents enroll children already at or ahead of grade level for advanced study. Kumon is designed to enable all students to excel, and to nurture skills that help children succeed all throughout school, and beyond. Kumon encourages all enrollees to remain with the program through the entire curriculum whenever possible. Remember, Kumon is not tutoring and is not meant to be a "quick fix." Becoming a better learner is an ongoing process that requires daily practice and disciplined study habits, as well as the continual acquisition of new skills and concepts. What's more, qualities nurtured by Kumon - like confidence, perseverance, and independence - continue to develop among students who stay with the program. Being caught up doesn't mean your child won't encounter difficulties in the future. These may be addressed with re-enrollment, but it is far preferable to keep such problems from ever arising by strengthening your child's academic skills and augmenting the tools already at his or her disposal.

Does Kumon offer preparation for standardized tests?

Kumon specializes in nurturing skills that improve all aspects of academic performance, including test-taking. Through daily timed assignments, students become thoroughly accustomed to working under test-taking conditions, developing key time management and problem-solving skills. Few students are as well prepared for major standardized exams like the SAT as long-term Kumon students. Studies have shown that Kumon students in fourth and eighth grade scored higher than national and international averages in mathematics on standardized exams. However, Kumon does not offer short-term, specialized preparation for any particular standardized test.

Why is home grading so important?

Helping our students achieve their maximum benefit from the Kumon Method is our main focus, and the more experience we gain in working with students, the clearer it becomes that home grading is an essential element. Home grading means parents grade all Math and Reading homework at home daily, so the child can make corrections immediately. This way, he or she can learn from errors immediately, rather than repeating them on the next assignment. When the student returns to the next scheduled class, all of the homework assignments will have already been graded and corrected to 100%. The child is then ready to go on with the new assignment for class. The comparison chart shown below clearly indicates the value of home grading:

Students who make corrections daily

Get immediate feedback

Learn more by correcting errors when problems

are still fresh in their minds

Put more effort into their work because they

know it will be checked immediately

Reduce errors

Build confidence

Progress faster to the new topic/level

Do not need as much help

Score in Group 1 (excellent) or Group 2 (good)

on their achievement tests

Have parents who monitor progress daily

Progress 30% to 100% faster

Build good study habits

Students who don't

Wait until next class to get feedback

Have to correct several days of work at a time

Do not always do their best

Accumulate errors

Get frustrated

Need more repetition to achieve mastery

Need a lot of help in higher levels

Are more likely to score in Group 3 (average)

on their achievement tests

Have parents who are not aware of their progress

Progress at a much slower rate and cause parents to

pay more tuition for the same result

Often do not complete daily homework

Do not progress smoothly into higher levels

Why is my child starting the Kumon program at such a low level?

A super-solid starting point is one of the most important factors in your child's success. Learning concepts build on each other like bricks in a wall. The whole structure can collapse from gaps or weak spots far below. If it's rock-solid from the very first layer, however, there's little chance of it giving way later on. To ensure this firm foundation, we start your child only at the level in which he or she already demonstrates a thorough command of the material. Starting at this easily manageable point also helps children build confidence in their abilities and in the Kumon program, as well as self-esteem as they cultivate study habits they'll need throughout the program, as well as at school - habits like concentration, perseverance, and the discipline of daily practice. For these reasons, working at such an easy level in the early weeks is critical, enabling your child to progress smoothly without becoming discouraged or frustrated. Intrinsic to the Kumon method is the child's discovery of his or her ability to succeed and experience success often. Kumon students acquire skills and gain confidence by working with material introduced when they've already been adequately prepared to cope with it. That's the key to sure and steady progress. We ask parents to be especially patient in the first two or three months of the program as we lay the groundwork for your child to achieve the best results with Kumon.

Why is completion time important on my child's assignments?

Speed is just as important a gauge as accuracy of how well a child has grasped a concept. Basic concepts must be truly second-nature if your child is to retain them permanently. A student must know that 9+7=16, for example, or be able to distinguish the subject of a sentence from the predicate without hesitation before he or she can be said to have truly mastered these concepts. It's critical for children to have such a command of the basics at their fingertips in order to cope with more complex material down the road. That's why we don't advance Kumon Students prematurely. However, speed doesn't mean pressure! The purpose of timing students is not to rush them or create a "beat-the-clock" mentality. On the contrary, completing worksheets swiftly happens naturally as children grow more comfortable with the material and don't have to mull over problems to figure them out. Only when students are able to get the right answers without struggle or delay are they adequately prepared to move on to new material.

Why are assignments repeated?

Doing anything well takes practice, and acquiring skills often means performing the same task again and again. As with learning to play the piano or hit a baseball, learning skills require frequent practice for the child to gain mastery of them. A piano student doesn't begin to play compositions until simple scales have been mastered. In much the same way, he or she shouldn't tackle words until letters and letter combinations are mastered, or take on multiplication of two-digit numbers until achieving a total command of the operation with single digits. That's why it's so important to repeat Kumon material until it's fully grasped and genuinely mastered. It's not uncommon for parents and students to question at one point or another the repetitive nature of Kumon worksheets. However, applying skills repeatedly is precisely what reinforces them and ensures that they are permanently retained. Those skills may then be effortlessly drawn upon by the student for success with material at higher levels.

Why are some school topics not covered in Kumon?

Parents needn't be alarmed that not every topic covered by their child's school curriculum is precisely mirrored by Kumon. You may ask how a child who isn't given problems in geometry or spelling can be expected to excel in those areas, but rest assured that this is no oversight. It's how Kumon works. Kumon is not meant to replicate topic-by-topic your child's school curriculum. Kumon is streamlined to nurture essential skills that will help your child succeed throughout school. In math, computational and arithmetical skills are stressed because they are essential to subjects all the way through calculus. A geometry student who can square a hypotenuse without a second thought, for example, can focus entirely on the rules and concepts of geometry. Likewise, Kumon Reading stresses comprehension because such exercises naturally develop good grammar, writing skills, and critical reasoning ability. Building a strong foundation of core skills maximizes your child's potential for success within and beyond the subjects of math and reading. Little by little, your child builds a foundation of knowledge and a command of essential skills that have almost universal applications. In this way Kumon develops sharp, agile minds equipped for tackling even complex abstract concepts.

Why is it so important for my child to learn independently?

Kumon does not tutor children, but rather fosters the skills and confidence they'll need to succeed on their own. Kumon is about more than learning to simplify fractions or write grammatically correct sentences. It's about making your child a more capable and self-reliant student. Independent learners are self-motivated. Properly assigned by a Kumon instructor, Kumon Worksheets are designed to introduce concepts in a way that lets children understand and apply them without being spoon-fed or taught in the traditional sense. By succeeding early and often without constant intervention, Kumon students gain the motivation to set their own goals and tackle even more challenging material. Showing children who are struggling with schoolwork how to solve a problem may help them over a particular hurdle, but Kumon aims higher. It fosters key skills and disciplined study habits applicable throughout school - particularly in high school - when many students run into difficulty. It arms students with the tools they need to cope with the challenges they face now, and later. Kumon has been systematically developed to achieve something more than tutoring alone is geared to accomplish. Our program is designed to help children work to the best of their ability - by becoming independent learners. That's how Kumon routinely develops more confident and capable students.