When it comes to helping her son with math homework, Lisa Earl is at a loss.

"I know nothing. Nothing!" Earl said. Her 14-year-old son, Patrick, is a freshman this year at Francis Howell Central High School in St. Charles County, Mo. "I tried to help him last year, and I couldn't," she said.

Back to school means back to homework, and not just for students. Like Earl, many parents have spent frustrating nights at the kitchen table, trying to help their kid make sense of equations and exponents.

And as much as mom and dad might be ready to throw their hands in the air and give up, math is more critical than ever, educators say. Advances in technology continue, and U.S. students have fallen behind their international counterparts. It's not only important to the country's future economy, but also to a student's success later in life.

To top it off, students are studying more advanced math earlier in their education and asking for help in complicated math that parents themselves don't feel comfortable with, said Terry Vendlinski, an algebra teacher and researcher at the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards & Student Testing at UCLA. Parental involvement is key to student success, he said.

"When I teach kids, I don't have a crystal ball. What I'm trying to do is give them options and prepare them for life," Vendlinski said. "Think of the mortgage crisis and the number of people that got burned because they didn't understand what they were signing. Do we want our kids to be in that situation later in life?"

So how can parents do a better job of helping their student with math homework this year? Some of the region's award-winning math teachers stressed it's not about whether you can figure out the answers to the assignment. All you need to do is give your child the tools and guidance to complete it, without getting to the point of tears - yours or theirs.

The first place to start is to establish good homework habits, a time free of distractions, so homework is not competing with TV, MySpace and text messages, teachers say. Get the student a planner, so they come home with a clear understanding of what they are assigned to do.

Parents shouldn't treat the homework like it's their own or teach shortcuts. Sometimes, parents feel like they need to relearn and become an expert, but that's not realistic, especially in high school, said Stacy Felps, a math teacher at Clayton High School.

"We want students to work independently, but that doesn't mean working alone. That independence means knowing when you need help and knowing how to get it," she said. "The more we help them be strategic learners, the more we are teaching them to be independent and getting away from that reliance on parents to fix everything."

Curtis James, a math teacher at Triad High School in Troy, Ill., remembers his mom saying she couldn't help him with math anymore when he got into high school.

"But you know what? She made sure I did it," James said. "What I think is important right now is to not let your kid get a cop-out. You can't say, 'I wasn't good, so you don't have to be.' "

One of the easiest ways parents can help their child in math is to be positive.

"I would say you have permission to not be great at it, but you have to be good at it to be a capable member of society," Felps said. "There is no way we can predict whether they can use it or not, because we're preparing them for jobs that don't exist yet."

Emilie Grimi, an elementary math specialist in the Parkway district, agreed.

"It's going to be all around you," she said. "Maybe not in a formula, but it's going to be there."

Talk with children about ways you use math in your daily life, whether at the grocery or paying bills.

"Show them examples, so they feel like this is all adding up to something," Grimi said.

If homework is too frustrating or it's not getting done in an appropriate amount of time, talk to your child's teacher about what else could be wrong, she said.

"I know some parents feel very intimidated, especially in a math classroom," Grimi said. "But they should get involved early because they are really their child's advocate."

GETTING INVOLVED

Getting involved in your child's math education doesn't just mean helping with homework.

Parents need to ask important questions about their child's math education, especially in middle and high school, said William Schmidt, co-director of the Education Policy Center at Michigan State University.

National leaders have argued that algebra is a critically important subject for all students to understand, and a study conducted last year in the Kansas City area by Public Agenda found that most parents agree. Nearly 8 in 10 parents, or 79 percent, said that algebra is absolutely essential.

Success in algebra has been tied to higher graduation rates and college enrollment. Students who wait to take algebra, which requires thinking beyond basic math and uses symbols to represent numbers, can get left behind others on an elite track.

So what is your student learning in math this year?

Schmidt says parents should ask how much authentic algebra, not pre-algebra, is taught in their student's math class. What is the course, and how does it compare to Algebra 1? Where does the class lead? Who teaches it? Pay less attention to course titles, which can be confusing, and focus on what's accomplished in the class, Schmidt said. If your child isn't taking Algebra 1, find out why.

MATH TIPS FOR PARENTS

Be aware of how your child is taught math in school, and don't teach strategies and shortcuts that conflict.

When your child asks for help, provide guidance, not answers. Too much help teaches your child that when the going gets rough, someone will do the work for him or her.

If math homework is the hardest for your child, do that assignment first. That means he or she will be most alert facing the biggest challenges. Easy material will seem to go fast when fatigue sets in.

Some schools have homework help on the Web. Ask the teacher about online resources that you can use with your child at home.

If your child is having problems in math, ask the teacher what tutoring or other resources are available to help improve academic progress.

jbock@post-dispatch.com