Do Grades Tell the Full Story?

By Dallan Hunt

Supporting a child’s education is one of the most important jobs parents have. School is such a big part of our children’s and teen’s lives and navigating the workloads and making sure they are actually learning and getting the foundation they need as each year passes is critical. But it’s hard to know!

Do grades tell the whole story? Does a teacher give enough feedback? Are the expectations of the classroom going to translate into enough rigor for their future?

It’s a good time to pause and ask: Do we really know how our kids are doing?

Here are some startling facts you may not be aware of:

1. 1. In 2022, the National Assessment of Educational Progress reported that during the COVID pandemic, from the year 2020 to 2022, average scores for age 9 students reported the largest score drop in reading since 1990, and they also reported the first ever score drop in mathematics. Yikes!

1. 1. By the third year of the pandemic, several new studies showed that about one-third of children in the earliest grades were falling short of expected reading benchmarks, up significantly from before the pandemic.

1. Across the USA 90% of parents think their children are able to read and do math at or above grade level, whereas only 31% of eighth graders are actually proficient or above in English, and only 26% of eighth graders are proficient or above in math.

Our students still bear scars with the learning they’ve missed.

It’s no secret: the disruption to learning from the years of the early pandemic has had a lasting and measurable effect. A generation of students has been impacted socially and academically and is behind in ways past generations weren’t.

And, it appears that, even with regular school reporting, parents’ beliefs about their child’s skill level are much higher than what is really the case.

Sooner or later, it will catch up to them. After all, college, university and trades programs all require the same skills and knowledge to enter and succeed in. Eventually students will come face-to-face with the so-called “real world,” with all the expectations it entails.

Okay so you’re probably thinking, “What actions can I take so that my child is really ready for the future?”

Here are two things you can do right now:

First, it’s important to communicate with your child’s school. Here are some questions you can ask teachers and school administrators to help get an accurate understanding of how your child is really doing:

• What are the academic expectations for my child this year?
• What skills in the school curriculum is my child struggling with?
• How is my child doing compared to pre-COVID levels?
• How is my child’s learning assessed?
• How quickly will I receive feedback if my child is struggling?

Second, another way to help pinpoint what your child needs help with is by getting a third-party assessment. Sylvan’s Insight™ Assessment not only helps identify subjects that your child needs help with, it also determines the exact skills they need to focus on to be on grade-level.

Its results are leaps and bounds above that of standardized assessments, as it uses computer adaptive technology. Assessment questions change in real-time based on your child’s responses, and consequently, the results provide greater accuracy for determining what your child needs help with, which ultimately saves time to getting your child back on track.

Watch this video to learn how Sylvan turns the results into a truly personalized plan that ensures students are where they need to be in their own learning progression.

Overall, the disruption of learning due to COVID can’t be overlooked but can be overcome. Your local Sylvan team is here to support your child to have a successful academic journey!

We can help you uncover any unknown academic gaps with our Insight™ Assessment. And good news – through the month of October, it’s just $49. Mention Code SPECIAL49 and book your child’s assessment today!