<p>You’ve gotten some great advice here, OP. Have you considered talking to some of his teachers to hear their take on your son’s performance? Not to say, “how can we fix this kid?” but instead, “what do you think is going on?” If there’s a particular teacher whose class he enjoys, maybe that one could give you solid suggestions for improvement/motivation. The teacher might even volunteer to mentor your son a bit.</p>
<p>One of my kids was not performing well in a 9th grade math class. My d and I met with the teacher, and not only did we have a great conversation, but the two of them became close. This teacher (who taught her three times, including for calculus) wound up writing a rec for my d’s college applications, and my d wound up with very solid math test scores. She really made a difference by focusing on my d as an individual.</p>