United States · Mathematics · Ages 5–16
Online Math Tutoring in the USA —
1-on-1 Classes for Grades K–10
Live one-to-one math classes taught to Common Core and your state's standards. Algebra 1 placement, SAT and AP prep, and math olympiad coaching. One teacher, one child, every session — from $15.
- 1-on-1 never a group
- Same teacher start to finish
- US time zones ET · CT · MT · PT
- 200 students a year
- From $15 per session
2ndRank offers live 1-on-1 online math tutoring for students in the United States, from Kindergarten through Grade 10, plus SAT, ACT, AP and math olympiad preparation. Classes follow the Common Core State Standards and adapt to state standards including Texas TEKS and Florida B.E.S.T. Every student starts with a free diagnostic assessment that finds the earliest unfinished concept — most often fractions, ratio or negative numbers — and is placed by ability, not by grade. Sessions run 55–60 minutes in your US time zone and start at $15, compared with around $30 for a typical online group math class.
The price difference
Half the price. And nobody else in the room.
American families are quoted $70–$100 an hour for a local tutor, and around $30 a session for an online class that still has eight other children in it.
Typical online math class
$30
per session
- Group of 6–12 students
- Lesson moves at the room's pace
- Teacher often rotates each term
- Full course paid upfront
- Progress reports on request
2ndRank 1-on-1
$15
per session, from
- One child, one teacher — always
- Lesson moves at your child's pace
- Same teacher from first session to last
- Pay 25 sessions at a time
- Written progress report every month
Why we can do this: we run no classrooms, no franchises and no sales floor. We teach 200 students a year per subject and spend the difference on teachers instead of overheads.
The American math system
Where your child sits, and what comes next.
Most states teach to the Common Core State Standards or a close derivative. Texas uses TEKS, Florida uses B.E.S.T., and several other states run their own frameworks. The math is broadly the same; the sequence and emphasis are not — so we ask which state you are in before the first class.
| Stage | Grades | Ages | What your child is learning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elementary school | K–5 | 5–11 | Number sense, place value, times tables, fractions, decimals, measurement, early geometry |
| Middle school | 6–8 | 11–14 | Ratio and proportion, percentages, negative numbers, expressions and equations, functions — and Algebra 1 for accelerated students |
| High school | 9–12 | 14–18 | Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, Precalculus, then Calculus or Statistics |
The decisions that matter
American math isn't a ladder. It's three forks in the road.
Fork 1 · Algebra 1 in 8th grade
Students who take Algebra 1 in Grade 8 can reach AP Calculus by Grade 12 on the standard sequence. Students who take it in Grade 9 usually can't, without doubling up or taking summer courses.
The decision is made on Grade 6 and 7 performance. Which means 6th grade quietly decides a 12th grade outcome — and most parents find out far too late.
Fork 2 · Honors and accelerated placement
Placement into honors math is decided by district assessments and teacher recommendation, and moving up later is harder than being placed right the first time.
Students sitting on the boundary are almost never short on advanced math. The gap is middle-school fractions and ratio.
Fork 3 · The high school pathway
Algebra 1 → Geometry → Algebra 2 → Precalculus → Calculus or Statistics. Where your child joins that line decides which AP courses are reachable, which shapes college applications.
None of it is permanent. But every year it's left alone, it costs more to change.
Tests, exams and competitions
Everything your child will actually sit.
| Assessment | Grades | What it's for |
|---|---|---|
| State tests — STAAR, CAASPP, FAST and others | 3–8, high school | School accountability and, in many districts, placement decisions |
| MAP Growth and district benchmarks | Varies | Tracking and honors placement |
| PSAT/NMSQT | 10–11 | SAT practice and National Merit qualification |
| SAT Math | 11–12 | College admissions. Digital and adaptive, scored out of 800 |
| ACT Math | 11–12 | Accepted by US colleges as an SAT alternative |
| AP Precalculus · AP Calculus AB & BC · AP Statistics | 10–12 | College credit and application strength |
Math olympiads and competitions we coach for
Competition math is where an accelerated student gets genuinely stretched — and it is one of the few things on a US college application that cannot be bought.
| Competition | Who it's for | What it takes |
|---|---|---|
| Math Kangaroo | Grades 1–12 | The gentlest entry point. Puzzle-style reasoning rather than curriculum speed |
| Noetic Learning Math Contest | Grades 2–8 | Elementary and middle school problem solving |
| MOEMS (Math Olympiads for Elementary & Middle Schools) | Grades 4–8 | Five contests across the school year; strong training ground |
| MATHCOUNTS | Grades 6–8 | School, chapter, state and national rounds. Speed plus depth |
| AMC 8 | Grade 8 and below | The gateway to the AMC ladder |
| AMC 10 / AMC 12 | Grades 9–12 | Qualifies toward AIME and the US olympiad pathway |
Olympiad coaching is not harder textbook math. It is a different skill — reading an unfamiliar problem and finding a way in. We teach it as its own track, alongside school math, never instead of it.
What US parents tell us
You've probably said one of these.
“She gets A's on homework and then bombs the test.”
A memorized procedure, not an understood one. Homework is done with the example in front of her; a test isn't. We check understanding by asking a student to explain the method, not perform it.
“I can't help him — they teach math differently now.”
You're not imagining it. Common Core teaches the reasoning behind the arithmetic rather than the shortcut you were taught. Both reach the same answer. You don't need to learn the new method — use the four checks further down this page instead.
“Will he make it into Algebra 1 in 8th grade?”
That rests on Grade 6 and 7 work — fractions, ratio, negative numbers. If your child is in 5th or 6th grade right now, this is the cheapest moment there will ever be to influence it.
“She fell behind in remote learning and never caught up.”
Common, and fixable. Rebuilding is faster than learning the first time. A one-to-two year gap usually closes in three to six months of twice-weekly 1-on-1 work, with grade-level work running in parallel so she doesn't fall further behind the class.
“He says he's just not a math person.”
That's what several months of not understanding feels like from the inside. It is almost never about ability. Confidence comes back before grades do — usually around sessions 8 to 12.
“My daughter is fine. She's bored.”
Then she needs stretching, not catching up. We run an accelerated track and coach AMC 8, MATHCOUNTS and Math Kangaroo. Being top of the class is not the same as having nothing left to learn.
Why one-to-one
The whole point of tutoring is that the lesson can go backwards.
A child with a 5th grade gap sitting in an 8th grade group class gets the 8th grade lesson — which is exactly what's already failing at school.
| School classroom | Online group class | 2ndRank 1-on-1 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 20–30 | 6–12 | 1 |
| Can the lesson go back 3 grades? | No | No | Yes |
| Whose pace | The curriculum's | The room's | Your child's |
| Saying "I still don't get it" | In front of 25 peers | In front of peers | Privately |
| Same teacher throughout | Changes yearly | Often rotates | Yes |
| Diagnostic before starting | No | Rare | Always, free |
| Written progress reports | Term reports | On request | Monthly |
| Price per session | — | ~$30 | From $15 |
The 2ndRank method
Five steps. The second one is the one that works.
- 01
Diagnose
A free 30-minute assessment with a real teacher — not a quiz, not a sales call. We find the earliest concept your child can't explain, which is rarely the one they're currently failing.
- 02
Go back
We teach that concept properly, even when it sits three grades below. This feels wrong to most parents and it is the step every other program skips.
- 03
Run two tracks at once
Grade-level schoolwork continues alongside the repair, so your child never falls further behind the class while catching up on the past.
- 04
Make them explain it
Every session ends with your child teaching the method back to the teacher. A student who can explain it won't lose it before the test.
- 05
Report in writing
A written progress report every month, sent without you asking. You'll always know what changed and what's next.
What we won't do: promise a grade increase by a date, stretch a 50-session course across 100 sessions to bill longer, or sell you a package your child doesn't need. If the assessment says they're fine, we'll tell you that.
Programs by age
Ages 5 to 16, one track each.
| Age | Grade | Program | Focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5–8 | K–2 | Math Foundations | Number sense, place value, addition and subtraction fluency, early times tables |
| 8–11 | 3–5 | Elementary Math | Times tables to automatic recall, fractions, decimals, area and perimeter. Math Kangaroo and Noetic coaching |
| 11–14 | 6–8 | Middle School Math | Ratio, percentages, negative numbers, expressions and equations. Algebra 1 readiness. MOEMS, MATHCOUNTS, AMC 8 |
| 13–16 | 8–10 | Algebra & Geometry | Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, functions and quadratics. AMC 10 |
| 15–16 | 10–11 | Test Prep | SAT Math, ACT Math, PSAT. AP Precalculus readiness |
| Any | Any | Accelerated Track | For students already ahead — competition math, deeper problem solving, one rank above wherever they are |
Scheduling
We teach in your time zone.
Eastern · Central · Mountain · Pacific
Weekday evening and weekend slots across all four US time zones. Your session time is fixed and always displayed in your local time.
Daylight saving is our problem, not yours
When the clocks change, we move the session. Your slot stays where it is in your calendar.
Our teachers are based internationally and teach to US standards in US hours. You will meet your child's teacher at the free assessment, before you commit to anything.
Try this tonight
Four checks that tell you more than a report card.
1 · The explain test
Ask why a method works, not to do it. "Why do you flip the second fraction when you divide?" A child who can only perform it has memorized, not understood.
2 · The speed test
Times tables and number bonds should be recalled, not calculated. Watch for the pause and the glance upward — that pause costs them on every test they'll ever take.
3 · The backwards test
Give them a problem from two grades below. It should be effortless. If it isn't, you've just found the real gap.
4 · The word problem test
Many kids can solve 3x + 7 = 22 but can't turn a sentence into it. That gap is translation, not math — and it's the one the SAT punishes hardest.
Questions US parents ask
Straight answers.
Free assessment
Find out what grade your child is actually working at.
Thirty minutes with a real teacher, on real problems. Afterwards we'll tell you plainly where they are and what it would take to move — including when the honest answer is that they don't need us.
No card · No obligation · No follow-up calls you didn't ask for