It’s January, and your child is mid-way through the school year. The beginning of the calendar year is a great time to assess academic progress. You can find out what’s working (and keep doing it!) and discover where your child could use some assistance. Once you know how to track your child’s progress, you’ll have all the information to help your child find success this spring semester!

1. Check the grade book!

You might already know that your child received a C in English last semester. But there’s a treasure trove of data waiting for you in your child’s online portal. Dig into these stats to determine where to focus extra attention. 

When you log into your student’s online account, there are three main patterns you should look for: 

• Were assignments missing or turned in late?
• What grades did they get on assignments?
• What grades did they get on tests?

For example, if the portal reveals a pattern of late assignments, that could indicate they would benefit from more accountability, greater organization, or better time-management skills. 

Maybe your child submitted their work timely, but their grades were less than stellar. Speak with your child and their teacher to determine if a lack of subject mastery may be holding your child’s grades where they are. Your child’s teacher may also offer other insights or observations to help you make an improvement plan.

What if your child is doing their work, turning it in, and getting good grades, but their test scores are low? 

If they’ve done well on their assignments but struggle with tests, test anxiety or poor test-taking skills may be holding them back. Learning how to test is a key skill to master, as exams will be part of your student’s journey through high school and college. Consider enrolling your child in private tutoring to master test-taking strategies and turn those exam grades around.

2. Conference with the teacher.

When in doubt, check in with your child’s teacher. They’ve now spent a whole semester with your student, and they can help pinpoint any struggles that might not be clear from the grade book. 

For example, if your child is gifted, they might express that their work is too easy or boring. While grades may not be their struggle, their class engagement or general enthusiasm for school may be less than ideal. If you’ve thought your child needs more challenge, check into the gifted programs at your school and the entrance process. We can prepare your student for gifted testing so that they have the best opportunity to access programs that might give them what they crave. 

On the flip side, a child might also struggle in class if they don’t understand the material or can’t keep up with the pace of learning. Subject mastery is critical, as new material will fall on a cracked learning foundation if your child hasn’t grasped earlier concepts. 

3. Talk to your child.

Lastly, one of the best ways to track your child’s progress is to speak with your child! Go over the gradebook with them, and bring up any concerns that the teacher had. Ask them what they think their biggest challenges are. You might be surprised at the insight they already have and can offer.

Some questions to ask are:

• Do you remember why you didn’t turn these assignments in? 
• Did you understand all of your projects?
• Do you have trouble focusing during class? Is there something (or someone) that distracts you?
• Is the work too easy or too hard?

When talking with your child, don’t forget to compliment them on what they’ve done well. For example, if they turned in every assignment, tell them how proud you are of their responsibility! If their teacher shared how they participate in class daily, let them know! 

Make a plan for the spring semester. Now that you have a good picture of your child’s progress, you can work with them to make an action plan! Whether your child needs more accountability, help with study skills, or tutoring for difficult subjects, Best in Class will be there every step of the way. Reach out to our team to get your child back on track for spring!