Susan McCullough's daughter Julie had aced 7th grade math, but the following year, as she was preparing for an 8th grade algebra exam, Susan noticed that Julie was having trouble understanding even the basics. "That's when I decided to find a tutor for her," says Susan.

It wasn't the first time Susan had hired a tutor for her daughter. When she was a fourth-grader, Julie dropped from an A to a C in math without any warning. Both times, Julie was tutored by a teacher in her school. In both cases, Julie's grades improved dramatically in just a few months.

There was a time when tutors carried a certain stigma, like going to summer school--both were considered remedial aids for children who were somehow lacking the ability of their peers. Today most educators and parents realize that every child learns at his own rate. He may be way ahead of his peers in some subjects and on par in others. But there may come a day when a student needs more one-on-one with a teacher than he can expect from chronically overcrowded public school systems. Often, this happens when a child reaches a plateau in his academic development. A tutor can provide individualized strategies to help him get off that plateau.

To get the most from a tutoring session, parents first need to do a little homework to find the best tutor for their child's academic needs. Even more important, parents need to help kids understand why they need tutoring.