WHAT TO LOOK FOR ON THE FIRST REPORT CARD

For a child it can be a terrifying experience or one of anticipation. If they are struggling in school, bringing home a bad report card can be full of dread. On the other hand, if our child is excelling in their studies, they can have the expectations of rewards and praise or maybe a trip to the ice cream shop or catching that movie they've been wanting to see. Are we putting too much pressure on our kids? Or should we be holding them to the highest standards possible? Read on for some helpful tips. Let us know your thoughts in the comments. 

source: http://www.athenalearningcenters.com/what-to-look-for-on-the-first-report-card

Overall, the first report card of a new school year is to be taken with a fairly large grain of salt.

For many schools and districts, we’re coming up on the end of the first grading period of the school year. Many students will come home with perfectly acceptable grades. Some will have their parents confused in one way or another. Here’s what to look for in that first report card.

Conduct

For the most part, don’t worry too much about actual grades (more about that later). What you might want to pay more attention to is conduct. Obviously, if conduct is bad, then learning suffers later.

If you are at all surprised about any conduct reports, reach out to the teacher immediately. Lots of things, including mindset, can change over the course of a summer. It’s better to get a handle on those changes now.

Grades

As said before, don’t pay as much attention to grades. It’s the first grading period. Summer brain drain, new surroundings, and new relationships can all make for a steep learning curve this early in the year. There are a few exceptions:

· For high school seniors, a lackluster report card now can signal the start of the “senior slide” and can have effects on the future that the student doesn’t understand. Their college of choice will still see these grades on their transcript, even if they’ve been admitted early.

· Bad grades for subjects in which the student normally excels are worth a conversation. In math, it might just be another steep learning curve (there is a big difference between geometry and calculus, for example). Some outside help from a learning center might be warranted. If it’s another subject, there might be something wrong that only the child or the teacher can uncover. These tend to be interpersonal or organizational issues that are easily solved if caught early.

· Slipping grades in the “easy” courses, like PE or electives, are also worth a conversation. There can be a lot of reasons for these as well, but they also count just as much on a GPA and deserve some attention.

· Obviously if any grades are really bad, some action on your part is needed.



Overall, the first report card of a new school year is to be taken with a fairly large grain of salt. Yes, there are potential warning signs of upcoming troubles. But for the most part, many students struggle with getting back into the routine of school.

Worried about your child's report card? Give us a call, we'd love to help....it's what we do!

Athena Learning Center of College Station

Tutoring and Learning Center for K-12th grade kids in math, reading, writing and science

3505 Longmire Drive
College Station Texas (TX) 77845
United States

(979) 314-9132
Hours: Mon-Fri 10am - 8pm