<p>My youngest is in 6th grade. His adaptation of MS academic expectations has been a challenge and still is. In math he does great on his homework assignments, and I see him answering them mostly using mental math, but in classroom quizzes and tests he does not do consistently well, with grades mostly C or D but few A also. His MAP test scores show him within the normal-high range for his grade in Math. In language he is reading above his grade level. his teachers all say he is smart but constantly daydreaming in class or not paying attention. I personally think he is still not very mature yet and always thinking about his computer games (which we monitor for content and limit to weekends only)</p>
<p>I wonder if any other parent went through something similar?</p>
<p>I’m not a parent but I see this happening with my sister. She’s really smart but pays no attention in class and never feels like doing her homework. We’ve been trying to instill good study habits but she just laughs and says “yeah right, you really want me to do that?” So don’t worry, you’re not alone. I’m sure it’s just a phase. </p>
<p>OR, as we have found with my sister, he’s just bored because he already knows the material. My sister never pays attention in geometry and then comes home and asks to study calculus…</p>
<p>Middle school is hard. I don’t know of any really good way to motivate kids, though having conversation about closing doors might help. Taking kids to see colleges might help.</p>
<p>For what it’s worth, my younger son had trouble with math tests because he had an LD making it hard for him to memorize a lot of material. He had a terrible time remembering formulas and shortcuts and often ended up having to derive formulas from scratch. He was actually quite good at math. He has similar problems learning languages and is now spending a junior year abroad where the immersion experience gives him practice 24 hours a day and allows all that material to make its way to his permanent memory.</p>
<p>Define what you mean by doing “great” on his homework? Do you correct his math at home? Doing mental math doesn’t mean he is working the problem correctly. Is he losing points on his tests for not working the problems in the correct order, not showing his work or just getting them wrong? Obviously you need to address the lack of participation in class with him. That is just not acceptable at all. I don’t know where you are but around here being “at” grade level for a standardized test means you are a C student or so–average. Better students are testing well above grade level.</p>
<p>Perhaps he’s settling into the kid he’s going to be? 6th grade is a good time to help establish good study habits. Set aside routine time in his schedule and let him do his homework and studying distracted in a consistent location. In 6th grade it doesn’t need to be a terribly long time, you can advice from the teachers about this but if memory serves me they don’t need more than an hour at most. It’s fine still in 6th grade to “check it over” when the homework is completed but you shouldn’t need to sit with him. One way to work with the teacher on the daydreaming not paying attention is to see if they will sit him in the front of the class (if he’s not already doing that).</p>
<p>Good on homework or in-class activities and bad on exams and activities with time limits can be a red flag for processing disorders. “Daydreaming” can be a teacher code word for “suspected attention issues”. Smart kids with light-weight learning disabilities can hit a wall in middle school. It may be time to ask the school to set up LD screening for your kid. The sooner he starts receiving help with any issues like that, the better.</p>
<p>Thank you for all the helpful replies. Please allow me to respond to those who asked questions:</p>
<p>SteveMA: I actually do check all his hw answers. Usually 95% are correct although he still gets stuck while trying to solve word problems. And when he is doing his hw and he needs to multiply a number like 278x3 for example he would solve it in his head before writing the answer down. He also tends to sit down at his desk and finish his hw in one go which makes me feel this is not an attention problem. His math quiz mistakes are of the types you listed. I was not aware that “at grade level” for the MAP test was equivalent to a C level grade. Good to know. We live overseas so learning a lot from the boards.</p>
<p>Momofthreeboys: I am trying to focus on developing good study skills as you suggested. They actually did move him to front of class but still didn’t help with daydreaming.</p>
<p>Happymomof1: I never heard of processing disorders so I will go read read it.</p>
<p>Can you see his tests and go over them with him? If so, try to determine why he got each answer wrong. </p>
<p>Was it a mental calculation mistake?
A problem reading his own handwriting?
Misunderstanding the problem?
Having trouble deciding how to solve the problem? (i.e., does well on homework because it’s all one problem type, but has trouble on tests where he has to decide what type of problem)
Are the test problems significantly harder than the homework problems?
Does he run out of time?
Does he check his answers?
Is he distracted by other things in the classroom?
Is his class early in the morning before he’s awake? When he’s hungry? When he’s tired from the rest of the day?</p>
<p>He listed several different types of mistakes. Mathinokc listed some others. It’s hard to help him unless we know exactly what the problem is.</p>
<p>As for the disparity in hw and quiz performance, it may be that he can look up how to do the problems when doing homework whereas he cannot for the quizes.</p>
<p>Stop correcting his homework. His teacher doesn’t know he is making those mistakes if he comes in with perfect papers every time. The homework is showing the teacher how well a child learned the material. If the parents correct that at home, the teacher is in the dark with what has to be reviewed and what does not, ESPECIALLY for a 6th grader.</p>
<p>I would also check if any of the homework answers are available in the back of the text. If he’s doing multiplication in his head, it may be that on tests he’s being asked to show all his work, but is just putting down the answer instead. I would also suggest that you watch him do his homework a couple of times to see how he’s coming up with the answers - whether it’s looking up info, using a calculator … I would ask for a meeting with his teacher to figure out why there’s such a discrepancy.</p>
<p>I remember reading that a small percentage of students have difficulty with multiple choice tests. Someone might recall the old thread or you could see what you can find on Google.</p>
I’m not getting the idea that op simply makes corrections on the homework. I see no problem with examining the homework and discussing what you have found to be incorrect with the child, giving them guidance in redoing it. The teacher has a whole classroom to address, while the parent only has the S and could focus on his problems exclusively.</p>
<p>If it is helpful to discuss homework mistakes, do it after the class where it’s due. Checking answers with him before that class may encourage behavior that, while well-intentioned, may lead to future cheating. At this age, which is still young but developmentally focused on some autonomy, many kids prefer their parents to stay out of things unless asked (and we are also asked to stay in the car: they don’t want to have parents at all!).</p>
<p>Mental math is great, but it is good training for the more difficult math ahead, to get into the habit of writing things down. Is the mental math part of a problem with having patience and focus enough to do things carefully?</p>
<p>His brain is under construction at the moment. Good to remember. Personally, I think middle-schoolers mainly need to eat, sleep and grow! Hormones are surging every few seconds, too.</p>
<p>But it does sound as if a neuro-psych. evaluation might help clarify things for this student. The fact that he does work all at once before class is not inconsistent with an attention problem, not at all. Hyperfocus and doing things just before a deadline are both part of ADHD/ADD behavior. Not saying that he has that, but some of the things he is doing or not doing might point in that direction. Believe me, time will tell, but it can be helpful to get in there earlier rather than later, whether for ADHD, slow processing or any other learning issues.</p>
<p>Agree that grade level or above grade level are not that meaningful.</p>
<p>^by 6th grade, heck by 2nd grade, a parent should check to see that the work is done and answer any questions the child may ask. They should NOT be making children re-do problems the kids missed. That does NOT help the student or the teacher understand where the knowledge base is. In this particular case the child is doing “mental math” that can’t be duplicated on tests. The child is clearly missing something and my guess is he is either getting answers from the back of the book or doesn’t understand the process to get to the answer even if he can figure out the answer in his head. Yes, in 6th grade the math is easy but it’s a building block for later work that is more complicated. If the child is not showing his work, then the teacher doesn’t know what he is doing wrong. Since there is a discrepancy between homework and tests the parents need to back off and let the teacher see what the problem is. If the parent isn’t teaching the child the right way to do that problem, that doesn’t help either.</p>
<p>compmom–I really don’t think that an evaluation is needed at all. From what the parent said the homework grades before they correct the problems line up with the grades on the test. There really isn’t a mismatch to call for an evaluation. Everyone thinks their child is smart but smart is all relative.</p>
You are putting down a rather fine line. The parent can answer a question, but not tell the child they have done a problem wrong? How is the parent helping to teach the child different than getting a paid tutor? Are you opposed to those as well? Having functioned in the positions of student, parent, tutor, and teacher (albeit college level), I don’t see how learning something from the parent is somehow inferior to learning from the teacher, as long as the student is willing to work with the parent, which as mentioned above, some are not.</p>
<p>Op has not said what types of errors are on the homework, other than the mental math aspect. Often said errors will consist largely of careless numerical errors.</p>