Every school year I hear from families who are having trouble interpreting a child's report card. Naturally, parents and guardians want a yardstick for their children's progress and worry when they can't discern what measurements mean. When reading a standards-based report card, it is important to throw out comparisons to letter grades. There is no “A” equivalent. A good grade is one that indicates a student is making expected progress toward meeting grade-level expectations.

Do you remember using flashcards when you were a student? Maybe you have even recommended flashcards to your child. When learning facts or vocabulary, they are certainly good tools. There are, however, more and less effective ways to use them to study. Children don’t always know when they are doing a good job at completing a task. Self monitoring in this way is abstract, and it requires the mental resources to do a task while also analyzing one’s own ability to do that task.

Surely one of the most common answers when one asks a child how he will study for an assessment is “I’ll have my mom or dad quiz me.” While such a review strategy can, indeed, be helpful, it does not teach children study skills. Nor does it give children a strategy they can use if adults are not available. Below are some ideas for how to study independently. Try teaching these strategies at home. Older children may benefit from having a printed study strategies menu that they

It seems obvious that smaller class sizes would be better for students and teachers alike. Parents often advocate for and seek out smaller class sizes for their children. Federal funds have been used in public school districts for the Class-Size Reduction program since 1999. As well, some private schools promote smaller class sizes as an important differentiator. In my own experience, I have preferred teaching smaller classes. If, however, one measures "better" by academic ac

As a teacher and as a tutor, I've often heard parents ask how they can help their children with homework. Adults worry about their teaching ability, about how their children receive them when they are "just trying to help," and about how well they understand homework subjects, among other concerns. The good news is that one of the best ways you can help with homework is also one of the easiest things to do: help structure homework time. Have a routine time every day when your