Choosing a tutor
How to choose a math tutor in Quebec
Find the real cause of the block, understand the CST, TS and SN sequences, ask the right questions before you hire, then judge honestly after a month.
Before you start looking
First, find the real problem
The report card is disappointing in math and you are looking for a tutor. Good instinct. Still, take half an hour before you compare profiles: the same grade hides four different problems, and each one calls for a different tutor.
A missing idea from an earlier year. Math stacks up. A Secondary 3 student who never understood fractions will trip over equations, no matter how many hours are spent on equations.
Method. Your child follows along in class, then sits in front of a blank page during the exam. Nobody taught them to write out their reasoning or to check a result. That is not a content gap.
Anxiety. Homework is fine, exams fall apart. The student has been repeating that they are “bad at math” since elementary school. A tutor who pushes harder makes it worse.
Organization. Homework gets done late, studying starts the night before. To settle the question, reread the corrected exam papers and look for the moment the grade dropped.
Your tutor should not be the first person you ask what is going wrong.
CST, TS, SN: the sequence changes the choice
From Secondary 4 on, your child follows a math sequence: Cultural, Social and Technical (CST), Technical and Scientific (TS), or Science (SN). The three do not cover the same ideas, or the same depth. CST leans on modelling and statistics; TS and SN lean on algebra, functions and proof.
A tutor who is comfortable with CST is not automatically comfortable with Secondary 5 SN. The sequence also opens doors to certain Cégep programs. If your child is aiming for Natural Sciences at Cégep, say so on the very first call.
So always ask a high school math tutor which sequence they teach, and at what level. The same logic applies to the Secondary 4 ministry exams: exam prep for a ministry examination means knowing its format, not just its content.
Price: what you should be comparing
The price of a private math tutor varies a lot, and the hourly rate on its own says very little. Look at what the hour contains: preparation between sessions, reading the corrected exams, the follow-up sent to parents, matching fees, the minimum number of hours, the cancellation policy.
A very low rate usually buys troubleshooting with no preparation, rarely enough to catch up a Secondary 5 sequence. Above all, ask for a price attached to a goal: how many hours to fix fractions by December, and how will we know it is fixed?
Before you hire
The questions to ask on the phone
Ask them before you pay anything. The answers tell you more than a well-written profile ever will.
Which sequence and which level do you teach most often?
CST, TS, SN or the elementary grades: the answer should come without hesitation.
How will you find out where the gaps are?
A real diagnosis: corrected exams, problems worked through out loud, a conversation with the student.
What do you do if the block comes from an earlier year?
The tutor should be willing to go back, even if it is not this week’s chapter.
How do you work with a student who is anxious or has ADHD?
Concrete methods: short sessions, breaks, tasks cut into steps. If there is an intervention plan (IEP), the tutor should ask to read it.
What follow-up will I get, and how often?
A short summary after each session beats one long report per term.
How was your background checked?
The exact process: interview, references, criminal background check.
What happens if my child and the tutor do not click?
A different tutor, not a speech about the student’s motivation.
A good tutor will ask you questions too. If they ask none, that is a poor start.
What a good tutor does in the first session
The first session does not look like a class. The tutor asks what is hard and since when, then has the student solve problems out loud. They are looking for the place where the reasoning breaks down, not for right answers.
They should also look at real material: the last corrected exam, the workbook, the class notes. A tutor who asked to see nothing is working blind.
By the end, you leave with a plain description of the problem, a goal for the coming weeks and a suggested pace. Not a promised grade.
Online or in person?
In math, online tutoring works well on two conditions: a shared whiteboard where the student writes things out themselves, and a camera or a notebook that lets the tutor see the work take shape.
Online, you gain choice. From Laval, Longueuil or the West Island, you are no longer limited to the tutors willing to drive to your home.
Meeting in person is still better in some cases: a student in the first years of elementary school, a child who checks out the moment a screen appears, a home with no quiet corner.
Warning signs
What should give you pause
None of these signs is a verdict on its own. Two or three together, yes.
The guaranteed number
A promised jump in the average means nothing. The result depends on the student, the time available and the classroom teacher.
No questions asked
Not the level, not the sequence, not the corrected exams. The session turns into a lesson picked at random.
The long contract up front
Months paid all at once, with no way to change tutors or to stop.
The student only listens
Ask to see the sheets. If everything is in the tutor’s handwriting, your child is watching a show.
Silence between sessions
No summary, no reply to emails. You are paying without knowing what is being worked on.
Homework done for them
Handing over the answers saves your evening and deepens the problem. The gap shows up on the exam.
When tutoring is not the right answer
We sell tutoring, so let us say it plainly: it is not always the answer, and hours paid in the wrong place cost a great deal in money and in motivation.
If the difficulties touch every subject, if your child sleeps badly or pulls away from friends, the problem is bigger than math. Talk to the school first: teacher, vice-principal, resource teacher. A professional assessment comes before tutoring hours.
If the gap is small and recent, the extra help the teacher offers often settles it at no cost. And if the problem is really about organization, put a steady homework routine in place for three weeks before you hire anyone.
After you hire
Knowing, after a month, whether it is working
A month is the right horizon: long enough to see a change, short enough to correct course.
- 1
Week 1 — a starting point in writing
You receive a few lines on what the tutor noticed and what they are aiming at. If nothing is written down, ask for it.
Marker: you can name the problem in one sentence.
- 2
Week 2 — the student writes more than the tutor
Your child produces most of the work on the page and catches their own mistakes before anyone points them out.
Marker: they explain an idea out loud without rereading their notes.
- 3
Week 3 — homework gets shorter
The time spent on a similar problem drops, even if the grade has not moved yet.
Marker: less tension at the kitchen table.
- 4
Week 4 — a real test
An end-of-chapter exam, or a past ministry exam done at home under real conditions. What matters is the kind of mistakes: careless slips rather than blanks.
If nothing has moved on any marker, change the tutor, the pace or the goal.
A math tutor who knows your child’s sequence
Tell us the level, the sequence and what is blocking. We suggest a match, and the first meeting is there to check that your child and the tutor click.
Mention CST, TS or SN in your request: the match will be more accurate.