The first quarter is usually the moment when parents start wondering whether their child is actually on track in school. Report cards, progress reports, and parent-teacher conferences can reveal problems that were not obvious in September. Maybe the grades dropped. Maybe the teacher mentioned reading struggles, attention issues, missing work, or behavior concerns. Maybe the conference felt rushed or vague and you walked out with more questions than answers. If you are worried about your child’s progress, not sure whether to step in, or trying to understand what the school is telling you, here is how to decide what to do next.
Start By Assessing What The Report Card Actually Shows
Report cards often tell you far less than you need to know. Many schools and IEP teams rely heavily on broad indicators like “progressing,” “approaching,” or “meeting expectations.” These labels do not explain what your child can or cannot do. They can hide early warning signs, especially for students who mask well, compensate, or try very hard but still struggle with the underlying skills. In the early grades, teachers may tell you that your child has time to “catch up,” or is just “immature.”
Before contacting anyone at the school, ask yourself:
- Are the grades surprising based on what you see at home?
- Is your young child reading as YOU think they should, or is your older student expressing
frustration? - Is homework taking too long?
- Do skills that were concerns last year still seem to be concerns now?
- Has your child expressed frustration, confusion, or anxiety about schoolwork?
If what you received lacks substance or contradicts what you see at home, you need more information.
Decide Whether You Need To Get Involved Now
Parents tend to fall into two groups this time of year. Some want to jump in right away. Others wait too long. The right choice depends on your child’s age, independence, and needs.
Younger students and any student who cannot self-advocate: You should communicate with the teacher when you need to. Early intervention is important when students cannot express concerns themselves.
Middle and high school students who are capable of advocating: Start by helping them communicate with the teacher themselves. They should send the initial email about missing assignments, unclear grading, or misunderstandings. If they try and do not receive a response, or the response isn’t helpful, then you can step in.
Older high school students who are capable of advocating: While there may be situations where you need to be the direct communicator, try to teach your child what to ask, who to ask, and what is appropriate to say, as well as how to advocate for their own needs. You will be helping them learn a life skill, and teachers are often responsive and impressed by to students in this age group who ask for help.
Students with IEPs: At every age level, you need to get involved if the IEP plan does not appear to be implemented or if the progress reported does not match what you see. Some middle and most high schoolers should be encouraged to advocate for themselves in terms of accommodations and daily classroom needs. Safety or serious bullying concerns: Act immediately. Do not wait. File a written report using the school or district’s official bullying form. Verbal reports are not enough. Keep in mind that bullying, by definition, is a repetitive, not one time, action.
What To Say When You Contact The School
If you do need to communicate with the school after report cards or conferences, do it professionally and with intention. Do not send important messages about long term issues through apps like Class Dojo or Schoology. Use email. You need a clear record. Use these apps only for quick things of lesser importance.
Keep your communication short, direct, and polite. Thank the teacher for what they shared, but do not over-praise to soften the conversation. Overly enthusiastic praise can make it harder for staff to recognize that you are raising a concern.
Examples of appropriate parent messages:
“Thank you for meeting with me. I would like to understand more about the skills behind the reading grade.”
“I noticed repeated missing assignments. Can you help me understand whether these reflect difficulty with the content or organization challenges.”
“I am concerned that the progress reported for the writing goal does not include objective data. Can you provide the most recent assessment results and the dates they were collected.”
Avoid texting. If the school calls you about something important, follow up with an email summarizing what was discussed and ask them to confirm that your understanding is correct.
If your child has an IEP, review the progress reports carefully
Schools in Maryland are required to provide meaningful progress reporting for each IEP goal every quarter. This is not optional. Many parents do not realize that vague statements such as “making progress” or “steady improvement” are not adequate. Without objective data, these statements are simply opinions.
Good progress reporting includes:
- Specific numbers
- Dates of assessment
- The tool or method used
- Data that aligns with the way the goal is written
If you see anything like “doing better,” “practicing at home,” or “a pleasure to have in class,” without additional data, you have not received real progress reporting. If you do not receive objective data, ask for it. If the goal itself is not written in a measurable way, request that the team revise it. Do not wait until your annual IEP meeting.
If behavior came up in the conference
Behavior concerns are often mentioned in a casual way even when the situation is more serious. Teachers may say a child is “having trouble staying focused,” “not following directions,” or “struggling to stay in their seat.” These statements tell you almost nothing.
For behavior to be addressed properly, it needs to be defined and measured. Ask the school:
- How is the behavior being tracked
- How often does it occur
- What triggers it
- What supports are in place
- Whether there is a pattern across classes or days
A well-written behavioral goal has a clear definition of the behavior (you could act out the behavior described) and numerical data tied to it. If the conversation at the conference was vague, follow up in writing and ask for specifics.
Watch for patterns that require action
One bad grade is not an emergency. One confusing comment is not an emergency. A pattern across classes or subjects, or comments that don’t match what you see at home, is a reason to step in.
Patterns to pay attention to:
- Declining grades in a core subject
- Comments about attention or focus that match home behavior
- A younger child who is refusing to read fun, high interest books
- Frequent missing assignments
- Reports that work is incomplete because the child “ran out of time”
- Accommodations that your child says are not happening
- Your child telling you they do not understand the work despite trying
When there is a pattern, it is time for a more formal conversation.
When to seek help from outside the school
You may need outside support if:
- The school repeats vague statements instead of giving data
- You are seeing a gap between grades and actual skills
- Your child is struggling with reading but the school insists everything is “on level” or that your child will “catch up.”
- You notice signs of a decoding (sounding out words) problem or a lack of growth in fluency (reading quickly enough to understand)
- Behavior concerns are growing and the school cannot explain what is being tracked
- Accommodations in an IEP or 504 Plan are inconsistently implemented
- You feel the school is minimizing your concerns
A special education attorney, education advocate, psychologist, or private reading specialist can help you determine whether the issues require formal action or new evaluations.
The next step
The first quarter is early enough to fix real problems. It is also early enough to prevent small concerns from becoming bigger ones. Parents should not wait until mid-year conferences, annual IEP meetings, or spring testing to ask for data or raise concerns about missing skills.
If you need help evaluating your child’s progress or navigating what you were told at the conference, schedule a consultation. The sooner you understand the underlying issue, the sooner you can make a plan that supports your child’s success for the rest of the school year.