Algebra is where a lot of capable students hit a wall. Arithmetic rewards following steps; algebra asks students to work with quantities they cannot see, and that shift catches out plenty of students who have never struggled in math before. Left alone it compounds, because geometry, trigonometry, pre-calculus, and the math sections of the ACT and SAT all rest on it.
Mackler Associates provides one-on-one algebra tutoring in St. Louis, from pre-algebra through college algebra. Every session is taught by Jason Marks personally.
The difficulty is rarely effort. It is almost always one of three things.
A gap further back. Students who are shaky on fractions, negative numbers, or order of operations will struggle with algebra no matter how well the algebra itself is explained. The visible problem is algebra; the actual problem is arithmetic. This is the most common cause, and the most commonly missed.
Procedure without understanding. A student can learn to solve for x by following a memorised sequence and still have no idea what they are doing. It holds up through simple equations and collapses at word problems, systems, and functions.
Pace. Algebra is taught on a schedule built for a class of thirty. A student who needs an extra week on inequalities does not get one, and the class moves on regardless.
Diagnosing which of the three is at work is the first thing that happens, because the three call for completely different responses.
Pre-Algebra Foundations Fractions, decimals, ratios, negative numbers, and order of operations. Unglamorous work, and frequently the fastest route to improvement — a student who genuinely owns these rarely finds Algebra I hard.
Algebra I Linear equations from one-step through multi-step, inequalities and their graphs, systems solved by graphing, substitution, and elimination, and a first proper introduction to functions. The emphasis is on knowing which method a problem calls for, not on memorising all three.
Algebra II Quadratics, polynomials, rational expressions, radicals, exponents, and logarithms — where the abstraction increases sharply and where students who have been coasting on procedure usually run out of road.
College Algebra For students taking college algebra as a requirement, returning to study after time away, or preparing for a placement exam. Often the most efficient work of all, because adult students know precisely where they are lost and can say so.
Jason Marks teaches every session himself. There is no roster, no assignment process, and no rotating cast.
He was moved up several grades in math in elementary school, and by sixth grade was tutoring junior high students in algebra using an instructional book he had written for a class project. He went on to the Honors College at the University of Missouri as a National Merit Scholar, graduating magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, and then to Washington University School of Law. He has taught students from elementary school through graduate programs for over twenty years.
The practical difference is continuity. Your student’s instructor in week eight remembers exactly what happened in week one — which explanation worked, which one didn’t, and which gap is still open. Nothing gets re-diagnosed and nothing gets re-explained.
This is a program, not a booking service. Tutoring is delivered as a twenty-hour program with a fixed fee, payable in full at the start.
That structure is deliberate. Algebra gaps do not close in two sessions, and students who drop in occasionally when a test is coming tend to stay exactly where they started. Committing to a program means the work can be planned properly — a diagnostic first, then a sequence built around what that diagnostic found, with time to consolidate before moving on.
It also means families know the cost up front. There is no meter running.
If you are looking for occasional homework help charged by the hour, this is not that, and we will say so during the consultation rather than take the booking.
Sessions are held at our office on North Mason Road in Creve Coeur, just south of Olive Boulevard, with parking on site.
In-person matters more in math than in most subjects. Watching a student work a problem on paper — seeing where the pencil stops, which step they skip, where they guess — reveals things that no screen conveys. That observation is often what identifies the real gap.
Families come from across St. Louis County, including Chesterfield, Ladue, Town and Country, Frontenac, Olivette, Clayton, Kirkwood, and University City. See all the areas we serve.
The first conversation is free and involves no commitment. Bring recent grades or test scores if you have them, and we will assess where your student actually stands and what a program would need to address.
If algebra is a symptom of something else — a missed year of arithmetic, a testing accommodation issue, a subject that simply was not taught well — we will tell you that too.
Schedule your free consultation or call (314) 434-4431.
Also see: math tutoring · calculus tutoring · ACT math help
Solving equations, working with variables, graphing, simplifying expressions, and the problem-solving approach that makes word problems tractable. Instruction spans pre-algebra through college algebra, including Algebra I, Algebra II, and placement exam preparation.
Then that is where we start. This is more common than most families expect — a student struggling with algebra is frequently struggling with fractions or negative numbers underneath it. The initial diagnostic is designed to find out which, because working on the wrong one wastes everybody’s time.
Yes, including for adult students returning to study and those preparing for college placement exams. Adult students often make faster progress than younger ones because they can articulate exactly where they are stuck.
Sessions are held in person at our Creve Coeur office. For math especially, being able to watch a student work through a problem on paper reveals things a screen does not.
Tutoring is delivered as a twenty-hour program, which gives enough time to diagnose the real gap, close it, and consolidate. Students whose difficulty is a single missing concept often turn a corner well before that. Students with several years of accumulated gaps take longer, and we will say so honestly at the consultation rather than promise a timeline we cannot support.