How to Recognize When Your Student is Struggling with a School Subject

It’s perfectly normal for a student to have difficulties from time to time with one or more subjects in school. And as Eileen Huntington, co-founder of Huntington Learning Center says, “Many students who did fine with basic reading, writing and math may experience problems as subjects become more complex.” How can you recognize the warning signs before your student brings home a poor report card or becomes totally discouraged? Huntington offers several red flags to watch for in subjects such as math or science:

• Your student typically receives good grades, and you’re seeing a sudden dip in one subject in particular—or more than one.
• Your student seems to struggle to gain traction on homework, or gets stuck easily.
• Your student has questions about areas covered in class that he or she did not understand—but he or she can’t seem to help him or herself through notes or the textbook.
• Your student continues to miss the same problem types over and over in math and/or science.
• Your student continually gets stuck on one part of a problem and struggles to move past it to complete the problem.
• Word problems are difficult for your student because he or she can’t separate the important and irrelevant information.
• Math is becoming increasingly difficult for your student to do independently because he or she struggles to understand the directions.
• Multi-step math problems are difficult for your student.
• Your student’s homework is sloppy or unreadable.
• Your student struggles to interpret data provided for problem solving.
• Despite genuine effort, your student’s grade in a certain difficult subject is suffering.

Huntington Learning Center offers subject tutoring for students in middle school and high school. “We offer one-to-one tutoring in all math and science classes and in other subjects,” Huntington says.  “We work with students who want to improve a grade, those who are struggling to do homework and everyone in between,” And though many students seek help once they begin falling behind, others may be less forthright with their struggles, Huntington reminds parents. “The obvious red flags are poor grades and elevated frustration at homework time, but if you suspect that your student is lost in class and could use individualized help, it’s never too late to get started.” Contact the Huntington Learning Center at 1 800 CAN LEARN to discuss your student’s needs.