Progress Reports

Every time around this year, teachers start to send out a report with your child’s grades. These progress reports can tell you a lot about how your child is doing so far. Are you unsure of what to look for? These reports can be key indicators of an unidentified learning disorder as well as the need for more individualized teaching methods needed for your child to make the progress s/he should be making. Not to worry, we are going to break down progress reports for you and tell you what to look for.

Why do parents receive progress reports?

Progress reports are sent home from the teacher as a way to monitor your child’s progress towards content standards.

What is in a progress report?

The progress reports consist of their current grade as well as classroom behaviors and whether or not your child’s progress is on track for the grade they are attending.

However, if your child is on an IEP your child’s progress report will also include their progress on their benchmarks/objectives as well.

Why is this important?

Progress reports will let you know if there are areas your child is struggling with. If your child is not yet on an IEP grades can raise a red flag and I advise you to look into possible areas s/he could benefit from services. If your child is struggling to earn average grades or pass his/her class despite the amount of support you are providing, it could be possible that your child is eligible for special education services or a 504 Plan.

If your child is on an IEP, low grades can be a sign that the methods used to help your child are not working. We were recently told by a school district that they do not give progress reports for bad grades of kids on an IEP. Parents, keep an eye out! This would prevent you from seeing that your child’s progress is fairly low, which should trigger an IEP meeting.

What are benchmarks?

For your children on IEPs you should also receive progress on your child’s benchmarks/objective along with their report cards. These benchmark progress reports will let you know if benchmarks and goals are met, not met, or the progress your child is making. However, “making progress” is not the same thing as meeting a goal. Data shows in order to remediate a disorder for progress to be meaningful your child should be expected to make a years and half progress in one year. Not all progress is enough progress.

If your child is not meeting his/her benchmarks it is highly unlikely that they will meet their goals as well. We advise you to call a meeting if your child isn’t meeting his/her benchmarks and talk about possible alternatives. If the same method is not working for your child why would you continue with it and expect a sudden change? It is best to meet and discuss alternatives.

What else should I look for?

Somewhere on your child’s report you will see comments made by their teacher, these comments are highly important as they will give you insight into whether your child is making adequate progress, if there are any behavior issues, and any other information they have on your child’s education.

Do not be afraid to ask questions and call meetings. It is your right as a parent to be informed about your child’s education. You should use these progress reports are guidelines and to track your child throughout the year. If you find the methods are not working and you are unsure as to your next step- contact our office. We can help you begin the special education process as well as jumping right into it half way and steering it in the right direction.