Poor Report Cards - What to Do

When your child brings home a poor report card, take these steps to find out what is the problem and how can you help.

Schedule an Appointment with the Teacher. . .

The teacher will appreciate your interest and concern and will help you understand specifically what is going on in your child's school life. Your goal at this meeting is to learn whether your child is having a 'learning' problem or an 'effort' problem. Ask for the teacher's advice about what you can do to help from home. If completing assignments is a problem, ask the teacher to participate with you in using the Assignment Checksheet for a set time period.

If Your Child Has a Learning Problem . . .

Early intervention is critical. A child who has problems with reading, math, spelling, or writing needs intensive help or he will fall further behind. Look at your child's standardized test scores and any curriculum-based assessment the school has done. Identify where his weaknesses are and plan your intervention to address the deficiencies in learning achievement.

If your child is two grade levels behind or scores in the bottom 25th percentile on a standardized test, request a formal assessment.

Take advantage of opportunities the school offers for small-group and individual remediation. Pull-out programs and after-school tutoring will give your child the intensive teaching he needs. If free tutoring is not available from your school or community, make the investment to enroll your child in a fee-based tutoring program or educational therapy.

If Your Child Has an Effort Problem . . .

Implement consequences for poor grades. Take a matter-of-fact approach to do the following:

1. Restrict an out-of-school activity or privilege for the next grading period.
2. Use the Assignment Checksheet so that both the teacher and you know that the child is completing assignments at school and from home. When your child knows that the teacher and his parent are aligned, she will increase her efforts to do her school work.
3. When you see consistent progress in your child's effort at school, begin to ease the restriction gradually. Full privileges are returned when the next report card reflects the desired improvement.

Don't accept excuses and ignore your child's efforts to manipulate you to not give the consequences. Remember how important it is that your child stay on track in school. When you follow the steps above and your child experiences the rewards of improving her school performance, she will develop a sense of competence rather than failure in school work.