If we were to ask you how your child did last term, you’d probably pull out their report and exam papers and tell us about their marks.
And it makes sense—it all seems to start and end with numbers anyway: ATAR, HSC bands, etc.
A lot of parents get hyper-focused on marks and numbers because it’s a concrete and tangible way of seeing progress. It seems like the right way forward. But there’s so much more that lies beyond your child’s marks encircled in red ink that easily goes unnoticed in your academic performance.
It’s important to understand that your child’s performance is not merely a manifestation of the amount of effort or motivation they have. External factors like home environment, internal pressures and other considerations like neurodiversity significantly contribute to it.
In this article, we share three pivotal tips to help your child improve their marks and performance in exams beyond looking at the numbers and rankings.
3 Tips to Improve Your Child’s Marks
#1. Establish a structured study approach.
Based on a 2022 Studiosity survey, 8 in 10 students admit to struggling with procrastination, and this is one of the most common concerns of parents. It’s not that they’re lazy. Children who struggle with procrastination often lack the necessary study habits or a concrete study plan to get things done and pull up their marks.
A structured study approach can help your child can be more proactive and lean into effective time management practices with consistent study efforts — which also enhances their chances for better results and lessens their stress in the long run.
#2. Address neurodiversity and other mental health challenges.
Neurodiversity and mental health have a significant impact on your child’s academic trajectory and results. There’s ADHD and dyslexia, as well as anxiety and depression, that influence how they study and deal with their everyday school life.
For parents, it’s so easy to brush these factors off and focus on other things. But when left unaddressed, they become roadblocks for your child. Others may even see these factors as ‘defects’ or ‘deficits’, when it should be approached with empathy and understanding so your child can adapt their strengths and excel regardless.
#3. Customise your child’s strategy.
Each child experiences learning in a distinct way that even identical twins can’t mirror (unless, of course, they learn and think the exact same way). We call that their Unique Learning Profile, a DNA blueprint of your child’s strong and weak learning points.
Our colleague Jacqui Van De Velde, who has served on the NESA Assessment Committee, shares the same view and recommends students to find learning modalities or study methods that suit their ULP best. We at Kalibrate-Ed support that by helping parents and teenagers build a custom study strategy that would amplify their strengths and address their weaknesses for better academic results.
The Path to Excellent Marks Isn’t Taken Alone
All parents want is to see their child give their 100% effort and achieve excellent academic results in return. But it’s not just about getting those 1 or 2 points higher in their marks. Excellent results are driven by consistent behavioural changes that come with addressing your child’s internal struggles and external challenges. By equipping them with a structured study plan, tools and techniques to adapt to their environment and strengths, and the right kind of support and learning methods, they’ll be able to unlock their potential and become more motivated and confident to achieve their best results.
We know that transforming your child’s results into excellent marks is not something easily done alone. That’s why our education strategists at Kalibrate-Ed are here to help you provide the right personalised program to your child and support them in making the necessary changes to improve their academic performance.
If you want to brainstorm more ideas to help support your child next term and throughout the school year, schedule a call with our education strategists by clicking below.
