Progress Reports are on the Horizon
Today’s elementary progress reports vary greatly among school districts and go well beyond the simple letter grades of A’s, B’s, C’s, etc. Various developmental scales and checklists are used to communicate a student’s performance. Middle school and high school report cards, however, continue to reflect the letter grades of years past. Since progress reports will be coming home shortly, here are a few suggestions as to how to approach report cards with your son or daughter.
What is the right or wrong way to react when disappointing grades are revealed?
Mary Pat McCartney, elementary level Vice President of the American School Counselors Association (https://www.schoolcounselor.org/) cautions parents about getting emotional about low grades. She recommends the following:
Parents should be enthusiastic about whatever is good.
Find a way to make a positive statement and acknowledge something that demonstrates good effort.
Deal with bad marks in a caring and calm manner.
It is important to discuss the report card together and help your child set goals for improving his/her performance. Create an action plan that will provide support and help your son or daughter take responsibility for their grades. Children also need to recognize that they earned the grade over the course of the marking period and must take ownership for their performance. Encourage them to monitor their grades on a weekly basis so they can determine if their action plan is working, and they can demonstrate improvement with future report cards.
Never use a report card to be punitive.
Parents should use effective discipline and take a positive approach.
Figure out what motivates your child and provide incentives.
Threatening to take away extracurricular activities or computer access is one approach parents sometimes use while others promise gifts or a monetary reward. A better approach might include establishing goals and rewarding improvement with an outing or a special day with a parent.
If you feel a grade is unfair, contact the teacher for more information.
Teachers sometimes make mistakes so communicate with the teacher and try to figure out what went wrong. Once the teacher is aware of your concerns, oftentimes suggestions, recommendations, and a study plan can be put into place.
Consider including your child in a parent-teacher conference.
This can be an effective strategy for upper elementary and middle school students. Teachers can have the student’s work and make suggestions for improvement. This is often a powerful strategy and can have a positive impact.
Finally convey to your child that school is important.
Explain that the report card reflects the good habits and achievement that they have demonstrated, and help them to recognize the habits formed during school will be with them all of their lives. Explain that hard work and good effort are valued goals in your family.
Although a strong report card is important, it is equally important to build a student’s self esteem and self-confidence if you want them to be successful learners.
With the progress reports are on the horizon, consider getting additional help.
Children need to form success habits and to do so, they need the necessary tools to help them get organized, take tests, comprehend, manage their time, and much more! To be independent learners, students have to know how to learn. When they reach middle school and high school, expectations tend to increase significantly, and greater attention to schoolwork is required for success. A study skills class may be the answer to help your son/daughter reach their potential. The Academy offers Study Skills classes throughout the academic year and during the summer. Join us for a comprehensive course that focuses on a wide variety of study skills and watch those grades go up!