When a child comes home with a report card filled with As and Bs—fast followed by an awards assembly invite and an honor roll certificate—parents may think all is right with their child’s education. But is it?
Many local moms and dads just got a rude awakening when STAAR test results arrived in June. Research shows more than 90% of Tarrant County parents falsely believe their children are on grade level—but STAAR testing reveals that the number of students with on-level results hovers around only 50%. The disconnect isn’t just an issue there—it’s a national one, with almost 9 in 10 parents thinking their children are on grade level, despite a steady stream of data that shows otherwise.
Why the discrepancy? Many parents rely on those report cards as the primary source of information regarding their student’s progress, but grades provide just one piece of the puzzle. A nonprofit called Learning Heroes has launched a nationwide parent engagement campaign called Go Beyond Grades to not only explain that to parents, but to empower them to partner with teachers to best understand student achievement.
The campaign began in spring 2023 and, after being in several other cities across the country, arrived in Tarrant County after the Fort Worth-based Sid W. Richardson Foundation contacted them to join forces. Since then, more than 80 corporations, foundations, nonprofits, school districts, universities and community organizations with ties to our community have stepped up to meet parents where they are.
One of those organizations is the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Tarrant County, which is helping parents know how to navigate their child’s academic progress and take the next steps as their child’s best advocate. “It takes all of us who care about our kids to help them reach their goals in life,” says CEO and president Daphne Barlow Stigliano. “Knowing what to do and where to turn to help your children can be a daunting task though. Parents are busy!”
So, as a new school year begins, here is what you really need to know.
The Disconnect: Grades vs. Grade Level
The primary reason there’s such a gap between parents’ perception and actual achievement is because of that belief that a report card summarizes the whole story of a child’s academic performance. While good report cards still deserve respect, celebration and their rightful place magnetized to the kitchen fridge, they don’t tell parents everything they need to understand, such as what grade level their child is at in reading and math.
Truth be told, those report card grades represent a mixed bag of factors, says Cindi Williams, co-founder of Learning Heroes. “It’s behavior, it’s participation, getting your homework in on time, and it’s the mastery of the things you’re supposed to know and understand in that grade,” she says. “When you bundle those things, you get a reflection of that student that’s way more than whether or not they know and understand the things they’re supposed to know.”
Those STAAR results are a different tool parents can use to evaluate student performance. “What that grade-level assessment needs to be for a parent is a gut check,” Williams says. “If your child is getting As and Bs and didn’t do well on the STAAR, that’s a nod for you to go ask your teacher, ‘Is my child on grade level? These two pieces of information don’t match up.”
Let’s acknowledge that while the STAAR test isn’t winning any popularity contests in Texas anytime soon, it does have real value. “No single piece of information identifies or labels our children. However, that does not negate the fact that the STAAR is useful as one piece of the puzzle for parents to be able to understand the right questions to ask,” Williams says.
How to Accurately Measure Academic Progress
While teachers are experts in classroom learning, parents are the experts when it comes to their children. “There’s nobody more equipped to help children in their learning trajectory, year after year, than their parents. We’re the continuous link. We see them every year—not just one year—and we know what they struggle with and what they don’t,” Williams says.
That being said, the best way to know your child’s true progress is to connect with their teacher and ask. These days, educators have a wealth of helpful data at their fingertips for a more accurate picture of your child’s progress. Perhaps they have a Lexile score, a system that measures a student’s reading level or a text’s difficulty, or other assessments embedded in the curriculum. Those assessments can offer a clearer understanding of your child’s achievement.
Many parents also don’t realize that STAAR test results include not only detailed insights into how your child answered each question but specific recommendations on how you can support their academic growth at home.
Collaborate With Teachers
The new school year presents the perfect opportunity to get off to good start with your child’s teacher. Learning Heroes provides a “Dear Teacher” letter to help introduce your child, including where they need academic skill support. It also offers a Parent-Teacher Planning Tool for the fall that includes example questions such as: What are the key math skills my child is expected to learn this year? How will you know where my child needs more help?
“Finding out where your child stands is the first best step,” Stigliano says. “Be curious and find out how your child is doing. Don’t assume because your student is getting As and Bs that everything is okay.”
Understand that teachers won’t have all the answers on the first day of school, but diagnostic testing takes place early in the school year, and teachers will know where your child stands and can share that information once the school year gets rolling. “This was important for me with my daughter. Once my daughter’s teacher knew my concerns and knew that I was committed to helping her, that teacher became a great resource for our family,” Stigliano says.
“Come to that conversation with a spirit of collaboration. Ask, ‘How do we work together? How do we co-create a plan that says, here’s where my child kills it, and here’s where we need to work harder. Maybe we need extra support,” Williams says, noting that when a parent knows their child isn’t on grade-level, they make different decisions about that child’s time. “When parents know the truth, they’re able to make better decisions on behalf of their child. You can’t solve a problem you don’t know you have.”
Getting Your Child Back on Track
If your child isn’t where they need to be and you want to figure out what they need to learn to get back on track, you can even ask for grade-level examples to get a better understanding of your child’s goals. Ask how they’re being supported through what’s often called “intervention” and “remediation” while working to catch up through “acceleration.” Likely, there’s support available through tutoring or after-school programs, or maybe some additional practice at home is all that’s needed.
“Ask your teacher specifically, ‘What can I do at home to help my child with … ? And then do it,” Stigliano says, noting there are some practical steps that parents can take outside of working with the school. “Make sure your child has access to out-of-school activities like quality after-school programs. Programs like these can be a great way to support your child, especially during the summer when it’s easier for some students to fall even further behind,” she says.
Try to create learning opportunities for your children at home, Stigliano says, acknowledging that it’s tough to stay on top of all of our responsibilities as parents. “Try incorporating learning as a part of your daily activities,” she advises. “Ask your child to read out loud as often as possible, turn everyday activities like cooking into math challenges, or have dinner together and encourage fun and stimulating topics for discussion for dinner conversation.”
Parents can log in to the STAAR test’s Family Portal to be given doable strategies specifically for supporting their child. For example, you might notice that your fifth grader struggled in a section called “Computations and Algebraic Relationships.” If so, you’ll also be given the strategy of cooking with your child and asking them how much of each ingredient is needed if you were to double the recipe, cut it in half, or cut it in thirds. Helping your children get to where they need to can be done in small, doable steps.
Navigating your child’s education can seem like a daunting task, but it can be a joy when you know you’re on the right track and partnering with your child’s educators. “Be confident and move forward,” Stigliano says. “It can be very intimidating to have these conversations with teachers. It is for them too. Remember you are not alone, and no one knows your child like you do.”
RELATED: Why Your B Student Will Be OK
Good Parent Questions for Your Kids’ Teachers
Parent-teacher conferences are great opportunities to learn more about your child’s education, but don’t feel like you’re limited to only speaking to your child’s teacher once or twice a year. You can ask how your child can make progress in important skill sets, and how you can support those skills as a parent. Check in often to make a real connection, including at the end of the year to take advantage of any necessary summer learning programs.
Here are a few of the questions Go Beyond Grades suggests parents ask to get the best idea of their child’s academic progress. The Texas Education Agency also offers a helpful, one-page Parent Teacher Conference Tool for parents.
Reading
Is my child reading at grade level? If not, find out why. Ask how they are doing with foundational skills such as phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension.
Does my child need support with foundational skills? If so, once you know which specific skills they’re struggling with, ask about tutoring, after-school programs or additional practice you can do at home.
How can I help my child with vocabulary and comprehension? Ask your child’s teacher about the topics covered in class—e.g., weather, historical figures—so you can help your child build on that knowledge.
What do I need to know about choosing books? For early readers, ask if you can get access to decodable texts that contain words with the sound-spelling patterns students were taught.
RELATED: Raising a Child Who Loves to Read
Math
Is my child at grade level in math? Ask how the school is finding out what your child understands and where they go from there.
Can you tell me how our school teaches math? Learn the name of the curriculum and ask if it includes parent resources you can gain access to at home.
What else should I be looking out for as my child does match homework and classwork? Does your child seem to really understand how to apply the skills required to do the work? If not, work with your child’s teacher to create a game plan.
RELATED: What is Russian Math?
Top image: iStock
