This series uses topics and skills drawn from national math standards to prepare your students for advanced math courses and assessments that measure reasoning, reading comprehension, and writing in math.

Students read a short story that includes a chart, table, or graph. Next they answer critical thinking questions to improve their understanding of the math concept and develop their critical thinking (comprehension) skills. Students can't just scan the story for answers—they must carefully analyze and synthesize the information from the text, chart, table, or graph to explain and support their answers.

The questions in Math Detective® are modeled after questions found on high-stakes math assessments, but require more critical thinking. These problems are excellent preparation for assessments that require students to explain and support their answers.

Stories are age-relevant, high-interest, and show students that math is integral to everyday activities. Each book contains a lesson that explains the concept of evidence, a chart of activity topics and key ideas to help parents and teachers select activities, and detailed answers.