A Mid-Year Learning CheckUp: 5 Questions to Ensure Student Success
The middle of the year tends to catch up to us, doesn’t it? The beginning of the year is an uphill climb. Then the holidays swoop in - leaving us exhausted and in recovery for most of January.
Around this time of year, though, report cards start coming home.
As tired as we may be, this is a perfect opportunity to stop and assess how your child is doing in school. Then, we re-set and re-energize for the second half of the year.
A thorough mid-year check can do wonders in addressing any issues before it is too late in the year. It’s always better to be proactive. It's easy to assume that school will handle all issues, but things can and do slip through the cracks.
YOU are your child’s first, best, and most important teacher.
You know them better than anyone. When you take the time to study how things are going, you are in a much better position to advocate.
Here is a list of questions to guide your mid-year check-in. By taking the time to assess current progress, you ensure continued growth.
Questions to Ask
1.Does my child seem happy, fulfilled, and excited?
Observe, observe, observe!! Does your child talk about classes or subjects that excite them? Or - contrarily - they dread? Do they avoid homework? Is there one assignment that is a battle? Do they have strong friendships? Take note of these behaviors and watch for particular patterns. If your "happy-go-lucky" child is now sullen, or complains of stomachaches daily - that is a red flag.
2. Has my child made progress toward expected standards and goals?
Use report cards, homework assignments, projects, and IEP progress reports (if relevant) to judge progress. Remember to make note of when it is expected for the goal or standard to be mastered. For report cards that usually means in May or June (whenever the year ends). So, is your child tracking to meet that goal in the next few months? If they haven’t reached it YET, no worries. IF they are SUPER far from that goal? Take note.
IEP progress reports often have different timelines. Be sure to stay on top of those and ask for updates as needed.
Not every child is going to have a perfect report card or progress report. Nor is that the goal. In fact, please don’t expect and strive for perfection (hello, stressed out kids!). But you do want your child to have the skills that will make them feel confident and successful in and out of the classroom.
For example, every child deserves the ability to read, and feel good about reading. Hard stop. There are a lot of milestones along that journey, and every success leads to the next one.
Outside of formal report cards and assessments, as your child’s best advocate, where do YOU feel like they are falling behind? Do a gut check.
3. In what areas is my child’s progress accelerated?
Where does your child seem to be doing well? Take stock of all the good things going on for your child in and out of school. Has soccer captured their interest? Do they adore the art teacher? Do they come home talking about math everyday? Have they taken writing by storm, when it was hard to get a word out of them in October?
Don’t skip the good parts in an effort to rush to fix problems. There will be more space to tackle the issues after you celebrate and capitalize on what your child has accomplished.
Be as specific as you can when making these notes.
4. Where does my child's progress seem stalled or slower than expected?
In some areas, your child will be making slow and steady progress. This is fine, keep tabs on it, and continue nudging away at the goals.
In other areas, it may feel like they are walking through quicksand. Taking one step forward and 5 steps backward.
These are the things we want to address first, especially if it is a skill that is a building block to further progress. For example, adding numbers within 10 is pretty important to master before everyone moves on to adding numbers within 20!)
Your teacher will be able to help you hone-in on, let’s say, the 2-3 most important things to focus on.
5. What are the most critical next action steps to take to make progress toward the larger goals?
Make a game plan by thinking about...
Is there extra classroom support available?
What homework or assignments need to take priority?
What supports or scaffolds can be provided to make the content or skill easier to access and build success? Some examples could be math manipulatives, and multi-sensory phonics instruction and tools. The skill in question will dictate the support needed.
Break the larger goal down into a few smaller action steps with check-in points along the way to ensure progress.
Action Steps to take this week:
Create a file of documentation
No single assessment, homework assignment, worksheet, test, or essay will paint the whole picture. Gather a variety of documents an artifacts to help you find patterns in how your child is doing.
It is a good idea to have a system to keep track of academic records anyway!
2. Look for patterns
Write down the positives you see
Write down questions you have. What do you need clarification on?
Jot down a list of possible red-flags
3. Talk with your child
Ask them questions about what they think is going well and what is feeling challenging. Where do they feel confident? Where do they feel unsure? Heads up: they may not tell you much. Kids are fickle like that.
4. Consider why
If you are noticing a lack of progress, consider why. Some possibilities could be:
Lack of sleep
Over-scheduled and over-stressed
Staying on top of deadlines and other executive functioning difficulties
Lack of confidence and motivation
Gaps in learning, which are making the current curriculum harder to reach
Any big life changes
5. Schedule a meeting
You are prepped now to discuss concerns with your child’s teacher and/or case manager if you feel that is the best move. Don’t hesitate and go with your gut. Always approach the matter as a team - this is key.
If you are looking to accelerate progress, consider a private tutor. They can help pinpoint and align lessons with your child's goals, fill gaps, and boost confidence in a 1:1 setting.
This process will ensure a much smoother remainder of the year. Ending THIS year on a high note will make NEXT year even better.
Want support in navigating this process? Looking for an educational coach to help your child reach their goals? Register for a free consultation through this link. Talking to you would make my day!
