Improving Your Child’s Learning and Grades

Most parents want their children to learn and get good grades. What can you do when your child’s grades are low and your child is not working up to his or her potential? There are no simple formulas that would apply to all students. To help your child best, you will need to understand the different elements that can affect learning and grades. Once you discover the elements that are negatively affecting your child’s grades you can provide some practical help in those areas. This booklet was designed for that purpose.

Elements that Can Affect learning and Grades

“I need my child tested. His grades are low. I worry that something is wrong with his learning.”

Reports like this are often heard in schools and clinics. While problems with learning can show up as low grades, there are also other elements that can affect grades (see figure). These include the home and school environment, as well as aspects within the child. In order to help your child, you will need to consider each of these so that you can develop the best plan.

The students’ home and school environments provide the foundation for learning. As parents, you have the responsibility of getting your children to school in a condition where they are most ready to learn. This includes both physical and mental readiness. Physically, you need to send your child to school on time, well-rested and well-fed. Mentally, you need to send your child to school happy and calm, motivated to learn, and well-behaved. In addition, you need to send your children to school prepared to learn. This includes helping them to discipline themselves to work hard and use good work habits. The Center for Effective Parenting has two booklets that have ideas for creating a home environment for learning and school success (Creating a Home Environment for Learning and Parents Make a Difference! Helping Your Child Do Well in School).

Teachers typically arrange the content and pace of their classroom program around the “average” student. You can expect a student with average learning and attention abilities who is motivated and uses good work habits and skills to be successful with learning and grades. Problems in one of more of these areas can show up as low grades. As indicated by the arrows in the figure, each element affects and relates to the others. In order to get good grades, each element needs to be working well enough.

Mental ability or intelligence is the ability to gain and apply knowledge. Tests that measure intelligence are generally good predictors of success in school. Through teaching, students learn specific knowledge and skills. Achievement is the term that is used to describe this type of learning. Schools and clinics can measure a student’s mental ability and specific learning skills with special tests. Intelligence or IQ tests measure mental ability. Group achievement tests given at school or individual achievement tests given at school or clinics can measure a student’s learning in areas such as reading, math, and writing. In general, you can expect a student to learn or achieve specific skills, such as math and reading, at a rate similar to his or her mental ability. For example, you can expect a student with “average” mental ability to learn an “average” amount of math skills. If your child is doing poorly in school, you should talk with the school principal or your primary care physician about whether additional testing would be helpful.

Two groups of students may need additional help in school. The first group is those students that have below average mental skills. Since the regular class program is set up to teach the average student, these students may fall behind. They may need additional help, such as tutoring or additional instruction at school and home in order to keep up with the class. The second group of students is those that are learning at a rate that is well below what you would expect from their mental ability. An example would be a student with average mental ability whose reading skills are well below average. This student may have a learning disability. Many times, students with learning disabilities will need special help at school such as special education.