How to monitor your teen's progress in school

Evaluating student progress
At the beginning of classes in September, most teachers provide students with an outline of their courses, either for the semester or for the full school year. The outline usually includes plans for evaluating student achievement throughout, showing the allocation of percentages of the final mark to class participation and homework, to major projects or essays, to short tests, and to full-length exams. It's good for parents to become familiar with this information so that they can help their kids balance the emphasis on different phases of each subject in which they enroll. The teacher usually writes comments on the student projects or assignments throughout the semester. Report cards at the end of the semester and of the course usually include the mark or the letter achieved and a general comment.

Beyond the report card
For a fuller assessment of how your teen is coping in high school, make a point of attending parent-teacher nights so that you can talk individually with each teacher. You may have to make the rounds of from four to eight different subject teachers. If it's not possible to schedule time to see each teacher in one night, talk with your teen to choose which teachers to meet and which ones to talk with by phone or to meet another day. Each subject teacher keeps a record of student attendance, assignments, and tests. In your meeting with each teacher, ask basic questions.

• Is my teen attending your class?
• Is my teen behaving in your class?
• Does my teen complete homework assignments and hand them in on time?
• How is my teen doing in tests?

Most highschool teachers return essays and assignments with a mark and any comments to the students. If you have concerns about these assignments, bring a marked one to the interview and ask the teacher to discuss what problems your teen's work shows. If the teacher suggests that your teen needs additional help with general study skills, inquire about programs the school offers -- for example, a tutorial on study or work habits or remedial classes. Many high schools offer workshops designed to boost academic skills.

When you suspect there's a problem, always call the school; don't wait for a teacher to call you. At the high-school level, teachers are responsible for many more students, so the system for reporting back to parents can sometimes break down. If you wait, you may lose valuable time that could have been spent helping your teen. To make an appointment with a teacher, call the school and leave a message with your home or work telephone number. The school secretary will be able to tell you what unassigned periods the teacher has and when you might expect a return call.

Extracurricular activities
Many of the activities your teen takes part in at high school can't be graded and won't show up on his report card but are, nevertheless, very important. Clubs, teams, student government, and community service are all part of the high-school experience. Encourage your teens to get involved and applaud their efforts. Sometimes when a student is going through a bad patch at school -- classes are boring, he's struggling with math -- it's the drama club or basketball practice that keeps him going. The friendships they make and the experiences they gain make high school a place they want to be. Kids who participate in activities outside of class have greater motivation, and do better academically.