If you’re using a tutor to help build your child’s confidence or enhance their learning, you’ll want to know if it’s delivering the results you crave.
Measuring progress isn’t always straight-forward though, although there are several things that you and your child can do to ensure positive outcomes and experiences.
Firstly, it’s important to understand what the tutoring is aiming to achieve, as this will ultimately be the measure of success.
Past exam papers can indicate grade improvements, for example, while boosted confidence will usually be noticeable in your child’s general demeanour.
What role do goals have to play in measuring progress?
Having targets or something to work towards makes it far easier to measure progress, as it can always be considered in relation to the end goal.
Tutors will often shape their lessons and work schedules in order to meet targets like this, and will gradually help your child to build towards the final goal.
This is easier in the case of exams when the end goal will often be the exam itself, but your child could also set goals to cover certain topics or coursework in a certain timeframe.
Why speaking to your child’s tutor is vital
In order to judge progress, you’ll want to speak to your child’s tutor, as that way you can find about your child’s learning schedule and what sort of progress they expect your child to make.
They should be well placed to share information on whether they think your child has improved their knowledge and understanding or is more confident than when they started.
Look to speak to your child’s school teacher too, as they can also comment on if there have been noticeable improvements in class.
You can ask similar questions to those you ask the tutor, as they should provide a good indication of the type of progress being made.
Why feedback from your child also matters
Don’t forget to speak to your child about the tutoring they are receiving too. Do they like it? Do they feel it’s effective?
It’s likely your child will notice if they feel they’re making improvements and may also be able to identify areas where they’re struggling not progressing as they would like.
For instance, if they don’t feel more confident as a result of then additional lessons, then a new approach might be needed.
Ultimately your child is best placed to feedback if they feel they’re making progress though, and you shouldn’t be scared to have an honest and frank conversation with the tutor if any issues are raised.
This will allow the tutor to try alternative learning approaches, or ultimately you may want to consider a different tutor if you feel the services of one is not providing the outcomes you would like to see.