Many teens experience a time when keeping up with school work is difficult. These periods may last several weeks and may include social problems as well as a slide in academic performance.

Research suggests that problems are more likely to occur during a transitional year, such as moving from elementary to middle school, or middle school to high school.

Some adolescents are able to get through this time with minimal assistance from their parents or teachers. It may be enough for a parent to be available simply to listen and suggest coping strategies, provide a supportive home environment, and encourage the child's participation in school activities.

However, when the difficulties last longer than a single grading period, or are linked to a long-term pattern of poor school performance or behavior problems, parents and teachers need to intervene.

Identifying Adolescents Who Are At Risk for Failure

Some "at-risk" indicators, such as those listed here, may represent persistent problems from the early elementary school years for some children. Other students may overcome early difficulties but begin to experience related problems during middle school or high school. For others, some of these indicators may become noticeable only in early adolescence.

To intervene effectively, parents and teachers can be aware of some common indicators of an adolescent at risk for school failure, including:

Attention problems as a young child -- the student has a school history of attention issues or disruptive behavior.
Multiple retentions in grade -- the student has been retained one or more years.
Poor grades -- the student consistently performs at barely average or below average levels.
Absenteeism -- the student is absent five or more days per term.
Lack of connection with the school -- the student is not involved in sports, music, or other school-related extracurricular activities.
Behavior problems -- the student may be frequently disciplined or show a sudden change in school behavior, such as withdrawing from class discussions.
Lack of confidence -- the student believes that success is linked to native intelligence rather than hard work, and believes that his or her own ability is insufficient, and nothing can be done to change the situation.
Limited goals for the future -- the student seems unaware of available career options or how to attain those goals.

When more than one of these attributes characterizes an adolescent, the student will likely need assistance from both parents and teachers to complete his or her educational experience successfully. Girls, and students from culturally or linguistically diverse groups, may be especially at risk for academic failure if they exhibit these behaviors. Stepping back and letting these students "figure it out" or "take responsibility for their own learning" may lead to a deeper cycle of failure within the school environment.

Teens Want To Feel Connected to Their Family and Their School

In a recent survey, when students were asked to evaluate their transitional years, they indicated interest in connecting to their new school and requested more information about extracurricular activities, careers, class schedules, and study skills. Schools that develop programs that ease transitions for students and increase communication between schools may be able to reduce student failure rates.

The Role of Parenting Style

Parenting style may have an impact on the child's school behavior. Many experts distinguish among permissive, authoritarian, and authoritative parenting styles. These parenting styles are associated with different combinations of warmth, support, and limit-setting and supervision for children.

The permissive style tends to emphasize warmth and neglect limit-setting and supervision; the authoritarian style tends to emphasize the latter and not the former; while the authoritative style is one in which parents offer warmth and support, and limit-setting and supervision. When the authoritative parenting style is used, the adolescent may be more likely to experience academic success.

It is important to remember that adolescents need their parents not only to set appropriate expectations and boundaries, but also to advocate for them.

Parents -- and teachers -- can assist teens by:

Making the time to listen to and try to understand the teen's fears or concerns
Setting appropriate boundaries for behavior that are consistently enforced
Encouraging the teen to participate in one or more school activities
Attending school functions, sports, and plays
Meeting as a team, including parents, teachers, and school counselor, asking how they can support the teen's learning environment, and sharing their expectations for the child's future
Arranging tutoring or study group support for the teen from the school or the community through organizations such as the local YMCA or a local college or university
Providing a supportive home and school environment that clearly values education
Helping the teen think about career options by arranging for visits to local companies and colleges, picking up information on careers and courses, and encouraging an internship or career-oriented part-time job
Encouraging the teen to volunteer in the community or to participate in community groups such as the YMCA, Scouting, 4-H, religious organizations, or other service-oriented groups to provide an out-of-school support system
Emphasizing the importance of study skills, hard work, and follow-through

Don't Give Up on Your Child

Understanding the factors that may put an adolescent at-risk for academic failure will help parents determine if their teen is in need of extra support. Above all, parents need to persevere. The teen years do pass, and most adolescents survive them, in spite of bumps along the way.

Being aware of common problems can help parents know when it is important to reach out and ask for help before a difficult time develops into a more serious situation.

WITH THE RIGHT TOOLS,

YOUR SON OR DAUGHTER

WILL SUCCEED

IN MATH AND SCIENCE CLASSES

If you're a parent looking to help your son or daughter with his/her grade 7-12 math or science classes, click here.

The Art of Learning

by Josh Waitzkin

Josh Waitzkin knows what it means to be at the top of his game. A public figure since winning his first National Chess Championship at the age of nine, Waitzkin was catapulted into a media whirlwind as a teenager when his father's book, Searching for Bobby Fischer, was made into a major motion picture. After dominating the scholastic chess world for ten years, Waitzkin expanded his horizons, taking on the martial art, Tai Chi Chuan, and ultimately earning the title of World Champion. How was he able to reach the pinnacle of two disciplines that on the surface seem so different? "I've come to realize that what I am best at is not Tai Chi, and it is not chess," he says. "What I am best at is the art of learning." Waitzkin explains in clear detail how a well-thought-out, principled approach to learning is what separates success from failure. He believes that achievement, even at the championship level, is a function of a lifestyle that fuels a creative, resilient growth process. This riveting narrative combines heart-stopping martial arts wars and tense chess face-offs with life lessons that speak to all of us.

Endangered Minds: Why Children Don't Think and What We Can Do About It

by Jane M. Healy

In this landmark bestseller tracing the roots of America's escalating crisis in education, Healy examines how TV, video games, and other components of popular culture compromise our children's ability to concentrate and to absorb and analyze information. Drawing on neuropsychological research and an analysis of current educational practices, Healy presents in clear, understandable language: How growing brains are physically shaped by experience, Why TV programs -- even supposedly educational shows -- develop "habits of mind" that place children at a disadvantage in school, Why so many children are diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, and How parents and teachers can make a critical difference by making children good learners from the day they are born. Healy clearly conveys the relationship between language, learning, and brain development, then explains why present-day lifestyles sabotage language acquisition, thinking, and personal success.

From At Risk to Academic Excellence: What Successful Leaders Do

by Franklin P. Schargel, Tony Thacker, John S. Bell

The authors believe that America's schools can improve and present examples of excellence -- educational leaders who firmly believe that all children can succeed, schools that effectively meet the needs of nontraditional learners, and educational communities that don't give up on students who are at risk of dropping out.

More Information

20 Reasons Why Your Child Needs You To Be An Active Father ~ Children whose fathers are actively involved in their lives are more likely to achieve academic success than children whose fathers are not actively involved. These academic benefits appear to extend into adulthood.

How To Stay Involved in Middle and High School ~ When your child moves on to middle or high school, staying involved in her education can be tricky. Try these strategies to help your child succeed.

Kids, Divorce and School Success ~ It's best to keep the focus on the kids, and leave parents' egos aside to help kids achieve success in school. Here are some tips to help.

Middle School Transition: It's Harder Than You Think ~ In smoothing the transition from elementary to middle school, educators need to provide adolescents with inspiration, imagination, joy, optimism, humor, love, support, firmness, safety, clear values, and — perhaps most important — respect. With support, the transition can serve as a catalyst for positive growth, starting students on a journey that will see their teen aspirations soar into adult accomplishment.

Strategies for School Success ~ When students are self-confident and believe that they are capable of learning, they have taken a crucial first step toward school success. Parents can cultivate school confidence by helping their children view themselves as able learners.

Teens and School Success (pdf) ~ One of the best indicators of teens' school performance is whether they feel connected to their schools. Feeling connected means that students have a sense that they belong and feel close to people, including teachers and other adults. Attachment to school is also associated with lower rates of sexual activity, fewer thoughts about or attempts at suicide, lower levels of violent behavior, and reduced alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use.

Teen TV Buffs Prone to Learning Problems ~ By encouraging young people to spend less than three hours per day watching TV, parents, teachers and health-care professionals may be able to help reduce the likelihood that at-risk adolescents will develop persistent attention and learning difficulties.

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