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How is School Really Going? | Tips for Using Progress Reports to Ensure a Successful Marking Period

Oct 13, 2017
 
 

“It was fine.”

 

“We didn’t really do anything.”

 

“It was okay, I guess.”

 

Students can be notoriously tight-lipped when it comes to sharing how their day at school was. It can be hard for parents to glean how things are really going: did your second grader eat their entire lunch? Is your middle schooler making new friends in a bigger, more intimidating school? Was signing up for two AP classes this year a mistake for your varsity soccer player? If your child is also hesitant to show you their homework or ask for help with assignments, mid-marking period progress reports can be jarring if he isn’t performing as well as you’d hoped or expected.

 

Interpreting the Progress Report

 

Before you can come up with a solution, you’ll need to figure out what the problem is. Read through the progress report and look for keywords such as “difficulty with” or “inadequate progress.” Note what subjects seem to be the hardest for your child and consider what factors may be at play. Is he struggling in all subjects due to trouble adjusting to a new school routine? Is her math grade outstanding while she received unsatisfactory marks in Social Studies? Are any comments or grades particularly surprising (i.e. your third grader is struggling to keep up in Language Arts when he previously was reading at or above grade level)?

 

Meet With Your Child’s Teacher

 

Make note of any questions or concerns you have, and request a meeting with your child’s teacher. She will be able to answer your questions and offer feedback on what’s happening in the classroom — and the best ways to help your child be successful. Ask if there’s anything you can be doing at home, or if there are any resources available to you. It can also be helpful to let your child know you’ll be talking to their teacher, acknowledge any successes they’ve had so far this year and reassure them that you want to help make things easier.

 

“Mrs. Jones mentioned how respectful you are to your classmates, and I’m so proud of you for that! She also shared that you’re having trouble completing your science lab reports. I’m going to meet with her to see if there’s anything we can do together to make those easier. Do you have any ideas?” Involving your child and asking her for ideas may make it easier for her to be more candid about how school is going or to tell you if there’s something she’s specifically struggling with. This may also help to lessen any anxiety or stress she’s feeling about her school performance or struggles.

 

Red Flags to Watch For

 

There are sometimes circumstantial events that can make the first marking period difficult for a student. Has she transitioned from elementary school to middle school? Are there major familial changes (i.e. divorce, death in the family, moving to a new home)? Is he having trouble maintaining friendships? While those things can all be contributing factors to poor grades, it’s also important to determine if there’s an underlying weakness that’s keeping your child from reaching her potential.

 

If her progress report shows poor performance in the areas of language arts and spelling, she may be suffering from an underlying weakness in her language processing skills. A cause of difficulty in establishing sight words and contextual fluency is difficulty in visualizing letters in words. This is called weak symbol imagery—the ability to create mental imagery for sounds and letters within words. A significant number of students have difficulty with rapidly perceiving sounds in words and are slow to self-correct their reading errors. This causes weakness in:

 

  • Memorizing sight words
  • Sounding out words
  • Orthographic awareness
  • Phonemic awareness
  • Contextual reading fluency
  • Orthographic spelling

 

If she’s having difficulty with science, history/social studies, math, writing, and homework, she may have weak concept imagery—the ability to create an imagined or imaged gestalt (whole) from language. This weakness causes individuals to get only “parts” of information they read or hear, but not the whole. It’s important to note, weak decoding skills can also affect her grades in subjects that require a lot of reading. Weak concept imagery causes weakness in:

 

  • Reading comprehension
  • Listening comprehension
  • Critical thinking and problem solving
  • Following directions
  • Memory
  • Oral language expression
  • Written language expression

 

These underlying sensory-cognitive functions must be intact in order for your child to achieve academic success. If not, there will be a breakdown in her reading and language comprehension skills, resulting in frustration, stress, and poor grades on her progress report.

 

Don’t Wait to Get Help

It can be tempting to hope that reading or comprehension issues will work themselves out, but for students with a weakness in symbol or concept imagery, waiting often means more time for them to struggle and fall further behind. Our learning ability evaluation can determine the specific areas of strength and weakness for your child. From there, we offer an individualized plan, based on our research-validated instruction, to best suit your child either to close the gap or just make learning easier. Contact your local Learning Center for more information about what might be causing poor grades on your child’s progress report and how we can help.

 

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At Lindamood-Bell Academy, we tailor learning plans to each student’s needs, using unique sensory-cognitive instruction to unlock their full potential. 🌟Special Offer: Enroll now and enjoy 15% off a month of tuition!

📅 Join us on Thursday, October 3, for our Lindamood-Bell Academy Virtual Open House. Learn more and register at the link in our bio, @lindamoodbellofficial.
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Diagnosed with dyslexia in fifth grade, Miss Massachusetts 2024, Kiersten Khoury, first came to Lindamood-Bell as a student. Today, she’s using her platform to advocate for literacy and inspire others on their reading journey. Learn more at the link in our bio, @lindamoodbelllofficial.

✨ Imagine what your student could achieve with Lindamood-Bell! Discover our unique, sensory-cognitive approach and get started today. Special offer through September: Apply the cost of your evaluation to instruction! 💡 Plus, online students may qualify for 20% off their first week. Don’t miss out —⏳Speak with our learning center today!
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Attention Educators! Join us this October in San Luis Obispo, California, for in-person Lindamood-Bell Workshops! 🌟
 
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🗓️ Wednesday, September 25
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Emmy’s mom, Alyson, will share how Lindamood-Bell’s online instruction helped her energetic kindergartener catch up in reading and spelling. Lindamood-Bell’s Director of Research and Development, Paul Worthington, will be on hand to review how student gains from online instruction are equivalent to gains from in-person instruction. ✨ Don’t miss this inspiring story! Register now. ✨ Follow the link in our bio, @lindamoodbellofficial.
📚 Tips for Students with ADHD
Attention challenges don’t always exist in isolation. Students with ADHD often face additional challenges with literacy and learning. At Lindamood-Bell, we provide personalized instruction that addresses the root causes of these difficulties.
✨ Special offer through September: Apply the cost of your evaluation to instruction! Plus, online students may be eligible for 20% off their first week.
💡 Discover more strategies and tips in our latest blog post! Follow the link in our bio, @lindamoodbellofficial.
Lindamood-Bell provides tailored instruction for students of all ages and abilities in reading, comprehension, and math.
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Lindamood-Bell workshops prepare teachers to use evidence-based programs proven to help students with dyslexia, ADHD, and autism. Our approach, grounded in the cognitive science of learning, aligns with the science of reading and structured literacy.
 
📅 Register by 9/30/24 and enjoy a $100 discount on any workshop!
Use code: back2school100 at checkout.
 
Learn more and get started today!  Follow the link in our bio, @lindamoodbellofficial.
📚 Our Newton Learning Center recently welcomed Miss Massachusetts 2024, Kiersten Khoury, a former Lindamood-Bell student and passionate literacy advocate. Her inspiring journey with dyslexia made a lasting impression on our students.
Kiersten’s visit kicked off a book drive, a community initiative to foster a love of reading by collecting new children’s books for local literacy programs.
Visit our website to learn more and hear Kiersten’s incredible story—it’s sure to inspire learners of all ages! Follow the link in our bio, @lindamoodbellofficial.
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Students of all ages and abilities thrive at Lindamood-Bell Academy! 🎓✨

We tailor learning to meet your child’s unique needs with proven, evidence-based instruction, in person or live online. Watch your child soar academically and build confidence like never before.

🌟Special Offer: Enroll now and enjoy 15% off a month of tuition!

Don’t miss this opportunity—visit our website for more details and start the journey toward success! Follow the link in our bio, @lindamoodbellofficial.
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Looking to elevate your next teacher inservice? Partner with us and receive complimentary follow-up support all year long! 🌟
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