Any parent can sense that something is lacking with their child’s academic progress. Change of attitude, poor performance, and reluctance to open a textbook are common manifestations of the issue. However, when you finally notice these symptoms, you realise that the gap has widened over time without anyone’s attention or notice.
Tracking your child’s academic progress is not about being overbearing or adding more pressure to their lives. It’s about being connected with what’s going on with them, identifying problems at an early stage, and ensuring that they get the academic support they need.
Here is how to do it well.
1. Go Beyond the Report Card
The school report card is only issued a few times a year, but for parents, it is the ultimate judgement of how well their child is doing. However, by the time the report card comes out with a low grade, the child has been struggling for months.
The true measures of progress occur between report cards, such as weekly test scores, the speed at which homework is completed, and the type of questions being asked. Pay attention to the small things. A child who once liked maths but now dreads it is sending you a message. Noticing these things at the earliest will help a lot.
2. Have Regular Conversations with Your Child
Make it a point to talk to your child a few times a week, but this time, it is not to test them; it is to understand them. Ask them what comes easily to them and what is difficult for them.
Ask them what is being covered in class this week, if there is anything that is confusing for them, and how they feel about the test coming up. By doing this, you will gain a better idea of where your child is at. Also, you will let them know that you are invested in what they are doing, not just the grade.
3. Track Chapter-Wise Performance
A child can score 70% in science and still have a complete blind spot in chemistry while doing fine in physics and biology. An overall grade hides these gaps. Chapter-wise performance reveals them.
Ask to see your child’s unit test papers and weekly assessments. Look at where marks are being lost and ask them about it. This level of detail helps you and your child’s teachers direct support where it is actually needed, rather than revising everything vaguely.
Whether your child is enrolled in CBSE tuition or state syllabus tuition, a good tuition programme should give you exactly this kind of subject-specific feedback, not just a general sense of how they are getting on.
4. Stay in Touch With Teachers
You do not need to be present at every class to know what is happening in them. But you do need to maintain an open line with your child’s teachers and tutors. Do not wait for parent-teacher meetings. Reach out when you notice a dip. Ask for a brief monthly update.
At NEW10’S, parents receive monthly progress cards and direct updates on how their child is performing because we believe the parent-teacher partnership is just as important as what happens in the classroom.
5. Watch for These Warning Signs
Sometimes a child will not tell you directly that they are struggling. They may not even fully realise it themselves. These are the signs worth paying attention to:
- Homework taking significantly longer than usual or being rushed through in minutes
- Sudden drop in test scores, even in subjects they previously handled well
- Increased anxiety or low mood in the days before exams
- Avoiding study time, making frequent excuses, or becoming defensive when asked about school
- Saying “I don’t understand anything” without being able to pinpoint what specifically is confusing
- Loss of interest in subjects they previously enjoyed
None of these signs mean your child is failing. They mean your child needs more support, and the sooner you act, the easier it is to resolve.
6. Set Goals Together
A good thing a parent can do is help their child set their own goals in their schoolwork. Not “You have to aim for 90%”, but “What percentage do you think you’d be happy with on your next science test, and how do you think you could achieve it?”
By helping set their own goals, children are more likely to tell you when they should be doing better. It’s not monitoring; it’s something you do together.
Review these goals regularly every month or so and celebrate every victory, no matter how small.
7. Choose a Tuition Programme that Makes Tracking Easy
It is important to find a tuition centre where regular tests are conducted, where there is regular interaction with the parents, and where the parents are kept informed regarding the performance of the child.
Some important questions to ask are: How would you know if the child is lagging behind? What if the child is unable to grasp a particular topic?
At NEW10’S, our live-interactive online tuition and offline tuition programmes are designed with parent visibility built in, from daily assessments and chapter tests to monthly progress cards and direct teacher communication. Because supporting your child’s learning is a shared responsibility, and we take our part in it seriously.
Get Expertise in Monitoring with NEW10’S
Monitoring your child’s school performance does not require you to be an expert in their books or to be glued to their side every night. It is simply a matter of observing, being consistent, and communicating with your child, their teacher, and their tutoring programme.
Be curious, ask questions, and look for patterns. Appreciate improvements, not just high grades. It’s not the children who perform best under the greatest pressure who do best; it’s those who feel they have the greatest support behind them.
Want to know exactly how your child is progressing? Join NEW10’S today and get structured feedback, monthly progress cards, and expert teaching all in one place.
Book your FREE one-week trial class at new10s.in.
