How to Help Your Teen Improve His or Her Academic Achievement

High school is an exciting and challenging time for teenagers -- and for parents, who play an important role in supporting their teens' educational achievement. Here are some tips for helping your teen to do better in school:

• Make sure your teen is fully aware of the full range of career pathways available, and respect whatever pathway he or she takes. Only about half of today's Grade 9 teens will end up going to college or university. The other half will enter an apprenticeship or go straight to work, and we should provide as much support and respect to them as we do to those pursuing post-secondary education (for more on this topic, see

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/reports/pathways.pdf ).

• Have your teen set goals for each class at the beginning of each term. Put the goals where they are visible. Make sure they are more specific than "get better grades." Encourage your teen to go for "personal bests" rather than "perfect."

• Make sure your teen has an agenda and actually uses it to record assignments and to plan for completing projects and studying for tests. Review his or her agenda regularly.

• Show interest in what your teen has to say about school and the world at large. If you disagree with what your teen says, do so respectfully.

• Support and monitor your teen's homework efforts, but don't get over-involved or you could sap his or her self-confidence.

• Look for something positive to say about your teen's work, even if the results are not what you expected.

• Provide your teen with specific suggestions for improvement, for example:

• Read your assignments as soon as they are given. Outlining or taking notes on what you read will help you retain the information.

• Proofread your work several times to catch errors. Use the spellchecker every time.

• Review notes before a test. Make flashcards or get a friend to test you.

• Download practice math tests off the Internet.

• Sit in the front row of desks – doing so will reduce the chances of nodding off or getting involved in a side conversation.

• Never compare your teen's performance to someone else's, especially a sibling's. Each teen is unique, and comparisons bring only resentment.

• Keep your own skeletons in the closet; don't provide your teen with excuses such as, "I was never any good at math either."

• Encourage your teen to get involved in school and community activities. Research shows that teens who are involved in extracurricular activities do better in school. Encourage your teen to see the 40 hours of community service as a starting point, not an end goal.

• Strive to build a cordial working relationship with your teen's teachers and other school staff, even when you disagree.

• Review student conduct policies with your teen and let him or her know you expect the rules to be followed.

• Make sure your teen has a quiet place to do homework. Consider setting limits on time spent watching TV and playing video games on weekdays.

• If your teen has a job, limit his or her hours to no more than 10-15 hours per week, depending on how well he or she is doing in school.

• Encourage healthy eating habits. Research has shown that good nutrition and academic performance are linked – and that many teens are eating very poor diets. Breakfast is especially important to ensure teens aren't "running on empty" during school hours.

• Make sure your teen gets a good night's sleep. Many parents don't know that teens need 9-10 hours of sleep per night. Lack of sleep reduces a teen's ability to concentrate and to retain information and increases the risk of accidents. (And working too many hours per week at a part-time job is a key reason why teens are sleep deprived.)

• If you'd like more information on how to help your teen, contact the school's student services department.