Time for a Tutor?
Use this grade-by-grade guide to determine whether your child needs extra help.
If your child is struggling, don't panic at the first bad report card or note from the teacher. Do some homework. Find out why he's falling behind — and what you can do to make a difference.
The following is a guide, not a report card. It can't be said often enough: Each child learns at his own rate. "Kids are not empty vessels waiting for us to fill up," says Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Ph.D., co-author of Einstein Never Used Flashcards: How Our Children Really Learn and Why They Need to Play More and Memorize Less, and a professor at Temple University in Philadelphia. "Children are scientists. They need time to explore and sometimes, that's even more important than getting the right answer. If we want creative problem-solvers in the future, we must allow them to be scientists today."
While there are some normal developmental tasks a child should master at each age, the operative word is "normal" — and it has a very wide range. After reviewing the lists below, if you're concerned, check with your child's teacher, the school psychologist, or a reading specialist. Most likely, you'll get all the reassurance that you need. If not, you'll know how to proceed.
Preschool
Grades K-2
Grades 3-5
Preschool
At this age, kids are developing the listening, memory and attention skills necessary for learning. They learn best through play — and it has to be fun. If they're drilled in the names of colors or shapes, or plopped in front of videos extolling the virtues of the Number 2 and the letter C, they may tune out. Most experts see little benefit in tutoring at this age unless your child:
- learned to speak much later than his peers — he should be able to make short (two- or three-word) sentences by his second birthday
- seems totally uninterested or aware of rhymes and sounds
- can't recognize the letters in his name
- has difficulty blending sounds or remembering nursery rhymes
- has another diagnosed developmental delay
Grades K-2
In kindergarten, children develop such listening and reading-readiness skills as sorting and classifying objects, the names and sounds of letters and numbers, and how to hold a writing implement. By the end of the year, says Susan J. Schwartz, M.A. Ed., clinical coordinator at the Institute for Learning and Academic Achievement at the New York University Child Study Center, your child should:
- know the letters and numbers by sound and sight
- be able to associate sounds with symbols
- count to 10, and understand that numbers increase beyond 10
- correctly form letters and understand that they are the building blocks of language
Consider additional help if:
- Your child consistently avoids reading activities or complains that reading is too difficult
- You have an older child who was diagnosed with a learning problem (these difficulties tend to run in families; the earlier problems are diagnosed, the quicker you can find the help your child deserves)
- He does well in small groups but feels lost in larger ones
- Your instincts tell you that he's having a harder time than his classmates
Grades 3-5
"By this age, children are no longer learning to read; they're reading to learn," says Schwartz. "And they're doing it in every subject: to understand the characters and setting of a story, to solve math problems, and to do science experiments. If they're not using their skills in the service of learning, they may need a tutor to learn how to make inferences, determine what's most important in what they read, or to draw conclusions. They also need to know how to use the information they've already learned in a new way."
Though a child who struggles with reading may have been able to get by up until now, he'll face a high hurdle in fourth grade. As homework increases, and the curriculum focuses on reading and writing for comprehension, good decoding and writing skills are critical. So, too, are study and organizational skills.
Consider help if your child:
- is chronically disorganized, forgets homework sheets, misses quiz or test dates
- can't manage homework time well
- fails to take responsibility for doing his homework
- does well in some subjects but poorly in others
- never reads for pleasure
