When report cards go home, many parents will be surprised, excited, frustrated and disappointed by their child’s grades. Those parents who are pleased with their child’s grades are not a big issue for teachers, but understanding how to manage those parents who are frustrated and want to improve grades on the report card is important.
Do Not Send Surprises Home on the Report Card
Parents who receive a surprise bad grade on a report card are often angry and accusatory during parent-teacher conferences. Teachers need to make sure that parents know without a doubt if there is a subject or area in which the child is struggling. Sending home test grades is not enough as many parents do not take the time to go through the child’s backpack or keep track of what grades are coming home.
Often schools will have an interim report policy where any grade lower than a C has to have an interim sent home so the parent are aware of the problem before report cards go out. Other schools require every student to have an interim sent home regardless of the grades. This report is a great way to warn parents of an impending issue before they receive the report card.
Teachers should also be sending personal notes home to parents. While this may seem like a lot of additional work, parents may take notice of frequent notes or comments about habitual problems that may impact student grades, for example, students who do not turn in their homework. Taking the time to send home a quick note every once in a while is a great way to prevent unhappy surprises.
Good Grades May Not Mean Happy Parents
Many parents will show up to a conference around report card time saying that they are concerned about their child’s academic performance. Teachers often dismiss these fears based on grades: if the child is receiving all A’s and B’s, the child is doing fine. Parents concerns are also dismissed if the child is doing quite well in comparison to the rest of the class. Unfortunately this is not always the best measuring stick for a student’s performance.
While some parents may simply not understand what is age appropriate for a given skill, others may be correct to believe that their child is capable of performing better. Parents need to understand that teachers are not always capable of providing more advanced help for a child who is receiving good grades, as there are many children who are struggling to keep up. Suggesting a tutor or additional help the parent can provide the child at home is a good starting place.
Report card time may be a difficult time for some students, and teachers need to be sensitive to this and work with parents to find a way to improve grades and increase learning in the classroom. Avoid sending home surprises on the report card and understand that good grades do not always mean happy parents.
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Jennifer Wagaman - Jennifer is a mother of 2 and has both public, private and administrative experience in the education field.
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