Ways to Track Student Progress

Goals and Objectives

The first step to tracking progress is setting learning goals (also known as learning objectives or learning targets). Before beginning a new unit, it helps to figure out what you want your learner to know and to be able to do by the end of the unit. When taking a road trip, most people wouldn’t just hop in the car and hope to get somewhere. Instead, you decide on a destination and figure out the best route to get there. It’s the same in education. First and foremost, you have to know where you’re going. Mapping out the knowledge and skills you want your learner to acquire will provide focus as you plan lessons and activities. It will also allow you to know when the student has reached the goal. The process doesn’t have to be complicated. A simple checklist will do. To get the most out of goal-setting, follow these tips:

Set goals that are specific and measurable

Think about this learning goal: “The student will develop an appreciation for literature.” While, of course, most teachers hope to cultivate a love of reading, this is a learning goal that is difficult to measure. How will the teacher know when the student appreciates literature enough for the learning goal to be met? Instead, a more specific goal might be “The student will know the characteristics of a short story.” This goal is much more instructive for both the teacher and student because it sets a specific target that the teacher can measure. Of course, that doesn’t mean that the teacher won’t strive to instill an appreciation of literature.

Set goals with a timeline in mind

As you set your goals, try to estimate how long it will take for your learner to reach that goal. For instance, we might add to the statement above: “The student will know the characteristics of epic poetry, short stories, and novels by the end of the fall semester.” Of course, your timeline can always be adjusted if needed, but setting time-related goals will help you determine the pacing of your lessons.

Discuss learning goals with the students

Be sure that the students know what the learning goals are for each unit. This helps the students maintain focus and monitor their own learning. Give the students a copy of the learning goals and ask them to self-assess from time to time to get a clearer idea of how well they are understanding the material.

Set goals that are realistic and attainable

This one is important! You want to maintain high standards that challenge your learner. At the same time, if you set the bar too high you and your learner will end up feeling frustrated and demoralized. Consider factors such as age, ability, and any learning challenges as you set learning targets. Check out the example below.

Formative Assessments

“Formative assessment” has become a popular buzzword in education. Don’t let the name scare you. Chances are that you’re already very familiar with formative assessment in practice. It refers to the act of informally testing a student’s knowledge and skills as they’re learning. By using formative assessments, teachers can quickly determine whether their students understand what has been taught in a lesson. This allows the teacher to know when to reteach and when it’s okay to move on to the next learning objective. When used in its purest sense, formative assessments should not be graded activities. Instead, their purpose is to guide instruction. Here are just a few common methods of conducting formative assessments:

Informal Questioning

As you explain concepts, you can ask your students questions to make sure that they understand the material. For instance, if you are presenting a lesson about right triangles, you might ask the learner to explain how to identify the legs and hypotenuse. This method works well with any learner, but it especially appeals to auditory learners.

Dry-Erase Board Work

Dry-erase boards are an excellent tool for having your students demonstrate what they’ve just learned. Using the previous example, if you wanted to check for understanding, you might have your learner draw and label the parts of a right triangle. This mode of formative assessment is most effective with visual learners.

Exit Ticket

Exit tickets are an effective way to measure whether an individual lesson has been successful. At the conclusion of the lesson, you might ask your learner to write the answers to 1 – 3 questions on a small slip of paper that serves as their “exit ticket” from the lesson. This helps the teacher to know whether to move on to the next concept or to present the information in a new way in the next lesson. Plus, it’s a lot less stressful for the student than a pop quiz!

Checklists and Rubrics

As the end of a unit approaches, students should have an opportunity to demonstrate the knowledge and skills that they’ve gained. Teachers should plan assessments that are closely aligned with the learning goals they developed at the beginning of the unit. In fact, many homeschool teachers simply convert the learning goals into a checklist. For older students, teachers might devise a rubric based on the learning goals. By aligning end-of-unit assessments with the beginning-of-unit goals, teachers can ensure that their students are making academic progress.
Look at the checklist below and notice how it uses the same wording as the learning goals in the previous example.

Before and After Student Writing Samples

A student favorite for tracking progress is the before and after writing sample. At the beginning of a school year or semester, have your student write a paragraph or an essay without any coaching. Put the sample in a safe location. At the end of the year or semester, have your student write another paragraph or essay with the same prompt as before. Compare the end-of-year sample with the beginning-of-year sample to see how the writing has improved. Be sure to include your student in the activity so that he or she can be amazed at how much progress has been made.

Student Work Portfolio

Another way to track student progress is to keep a portfolio of the student’s best work over the course of one or even several academic years. This is a good way to see how the student’s general writing, mathematics, and/or research skills have developed over the long-term.

Standardized Testing

While not every state requires homeschoolers to take standardized tests, many homeschool families willingly opt in to testing in order to measure their students’ progress. Standardized testing allows parents to see where their children measure in relation to their peers. It also demonstrates a student’s academic growth from year to year. In some states, local school districts are required to provide opportunities for standardized testing to homeschool students residing in the district. Another option is for parents to purchase testing from private companies.
Standardized testing can provide relevant information about student learning, but it’s important to remember that this kind of assessment only provides a narrow view of the student’s skills and abilities. Some students have difficulty with test-taking for a variety of reasons. It’s important to use a varied approach when tracking student progress.

Resources Offered by Curriculum Companies

Some curriculum companies offer additional resources to help parents track their homeschool student’s progress. When researching curriculum, check to see what additional support and materials are available to help assess and monitor student learning. Using pre-made assessment and tracking materials rather than making your own is a big time saver. Plus, you can be assured that the assessments line up well with the curriculum and that your record-keeping is accurate.

Assessment/ Resource Booklet

Some homeschool curriculum companies, like Essentials in Writing, offer an additional assessment booklet that parents can use to check student progress and retention throughout the academic year. This allows parents to see if students are learning and retaining the material from unit to unit. Using assessments from the curriculum company makes it easy for the homeschool teacher to see which concepts their students have mastered and which need more work.

Scoring Services

One of the biggest challenges for many homeschool parents is assessing their child’s progress in writing, especially when the student reaches middle school and high school. Teens don’t always respond well to criticism from a parent. Additionally, some parents don’t feel they have enough expertise to evaluate their student’s writing at the secondary level. Luckily there are a few companies, like Essentials in Writing, that offer scoring services that provide rubric-based evaluations and specific feedback on student writing for every writing unit. By purchasing scoring services, the homeschool teacher can get a clear picture of how their student is progressing over the course of the school year.

What to Do if your Student Isn’t Progressing

It’s wonderful when progress checks and assessments indicate that the student is mastering the material, but what about when signs point the other direction? It’s inevitable that occasionally students won’t show mastery of all the learning objectives. It’s up to the homeschool teacher to give their students more opportunity to learn the material.

Re-Teach

If assessment indicates that a student didn’t master all the learning objectives in a particular unit, the homeschool teacher must re-teach the missed objectives. It helps if the teacher can use a different approach to the material. The flexibility that homeschooling provides makes this an easy process. In traditional school settings, the student must often attend tutorials outside the school day in order to attend re-teaching sessions while also keeping up with new material that is presented in class. In a homeschool setting, the teacher can delay the start of a new unit until the student can demonstrate mastery of the previous unit. Once the re-teaching phase is completed, the student should be re-assessed to be sure that he or she has learned the material.

Pre-Teach

If a student frequently requires re-teaching, it might be a good idea for the homeschool teacher to do more pre-teaching. Pre-teaching, also known as front loading, is the process of preparing the student to learn. For example, if a student is about to begin a research project, the homeschool teacher might begin with some lessons on how to use databases and how to navigate the public library. Or, if a student is beginning a unit on cellular biology, the teacher might begin by teaching the vocabulary so that unknown words do not hinder student understanding of later lessons. Pre-teaching requires a little extra time at the beginning of a unit, but it is well worth it.

If you’re looking for a complete homeschool writing curriculum, consider Essentials in Writing. Offering complete writing courses for grade levels 1 – 12, EIW launches students to new heights in their writing and takes the burden off the homeschool parent. EIW has it all: engaging writing prompts, short-but-sweet video lessons that model the writing process step-by-step, graphic organizers, rubrics and checklists, and more.

Essentials in Writing offers free consultations with certified, experienced educators to their customers, so you can feel assured that your students are progressing and find solutions to any concerns that may arise. In addition, they offer add-ons such as the Assessment Resource Booklet and Scoring Services so that you never have to wonder how your student is progressing.

Check out the EIW Level Wizard today to find the perfect level for your homeschool student.

Online learning became popular by necessity, but now that students and parents have gotten a taste of its benefits, it seems it’s here to stay. Since the spring of 2020, more than 65% of American households with students in grades K-12 have utilized some aspect of online learning. For many families, it was such a good fit that they plan to continue. Online learning isn’t for everyone, but for some students, the benefits of online learning make it a sensible choice.

As a new school year begins, many parents are wondering how to help their children get prepared to navigate online learning and how to support them during the process. Here are some tips to help your child excel in his or her online learning journey.

Set up a Comfortable Learning Environment

In order to make the most of online learning, your child will need a dedicated learning space. For starters, your child will need a table or desk and high speed internet access. In addition, you’ll want to make sure that he or she has a comfortable chair and ample lighting. If at all possible, choose a space that can be cut off from household distractions during school hours, or if that’s not possible, consider investing in a headset with a microphone that allows your student to tune into lessons and class activities and tune out background noise.

Be Prepared on the First Day

Before the course begins, be sure your child is equipped to log on and participate in class activities. Place your order for textbooks and any other materials he or she will need well in advance to be sure your student is prepared on the first day. Find out which browsers work best with the online platform and get them installed ahead of time so that your student can become familiar with them. If possible, your student should practice navigating the online system and accessing the course website to avoid stress on the first day. First impressions matter, even in an online class, so do all that you can to help your student be ready on day one.

Create a Daily Schedule

Enlist your child’s help in setting up a schedule that works for him or her. Start by blocking off time in class and time for independent study and completion of assignments. Be sure that all household members know when the student will be in class so that they can observe a “do not disturb” policy and avoid distracting or embarrassing the student during live classes. Additionally, make sure your student’s physical needs are accounted for by including designated break and meal times when the student can mingle and talk with other household members so that he or she doesn’t feel isolated. Setting up a schedule will help your child find a routine that contributes to his or her productivity and wellbeing.

Encourage Active Participation

To get the most out of online learning, encourage your child to actively engage in class activities. To start, make sure your child is fully awake before morning classes. They shouldn’t roll out of bed and jump into an online class. Instead, encourage him or her to wake up in time to get dressed and eat a nourishing breakfast to get those neurons firing and ready to learn. Once in class, your child should plan to participate in class activities, not just sit back and passively wait for the information to fill his or her brain. Taking notes, asking questions, engaging in class activities, and seeking feedback will help your student improve focus and retention.

Make Connections

Connections matter whether a class meets online or in person. Encourage your child to utilize online discussion boards to better learn the course material and to build relationships with other students. Getting to know other students will help your child feel like part of a learning community and may even lead to the formation of a study group. Likewise, your child can benefit from connecting with the instructor of the course and should reach out to ask for clarification on course content and assignments. Building relationships with other students and the instructor will increase your student’s motivation and give him or her an opportunity to seek assistance when needed.

Keep up with Assignments

Procrastination can get in the way of your student’s success. To combat this common problem, your child should use a planner or digital calendar to make a note of all major assignments listed in the syllabus. That way, he or she can anticipate upcoming due dates and make steady progress rather than waiting until the night before the assignment is due. Additionally, it is a good idea to mark social events such as weddings and weekend trips on the calendar to give your child a heads up to prepare in advance. The best way to keep up with assignments is to not get behind in the first place. Learning to be proactive is a life skill that will serve your student well in school and beyond.

Read the Directions Twice

While your child shouldn’t hesitate to reach out to his or her instructor to ask questions, it’s an excellent idea to make sure that the question isn’t already answered in the syllabus or assignment directions. Your student can save time and embarrassment by reading carefully and only asking questions once he or she has determined that the answer hasn’t already been given in course communications sent out by the instructor.

If you’re looking for an online program in writing for your homeschool student, you might want to consider Essentials in Writing. Offering a virtual class for struggling writers, a creative writing class, and a college prep class, Essentials in Writing will help your student become a better writer through engaging mini-lessons and meaningful feedback on written assignments.

These virtual hijackers often disrupted virtual classes with silly antics that merely distracted the class, but in some cases the intrusions were threatening or included crude or pornographic images and/or audio.

As virtual classes become more prevalent, parents may be concerned about the security of their students.

In some instances, misbehaving students were responsible for subjecting their classmates and teachers to inappropriate material during online class meetings.

Luckily, teachers soon became adept at identifying vulnerabilities and blocking access to these undesirable intrusions into the virtual learning environment. When proper security measures are followed, teachers can maintain a safe virtual learning space.

How Can Teachers and Parents Keep Students Safe from Zoom-bombing Classes?

In response to the Zoom-bombing incidents that shook the nation’s virtual classrooms last year, teachers quickly adopted several practices to ensure their students’ safety during Zoom meetings.

These Security Features Help Keep Strangers Out

Password Protection

One of the first steps Zoom took to protect students and other users of Zoom was to change the default setting to include a password. This way, would-be Zoom bombers can’t access Zoom meetings by simply typing in a random set of numbers to find in-progress meetings. By using a password and sharing it through private channels, such as student emails, teachers can maintain security.

Waiting Room

Another feature available to teachers using a Zoom-based virtual classroom is the waiting room. This enables teachers to screen each entrant and to deny access to anyone not on their rosters. It might take a couple of extra minutes at the beginning of class, but the added security makes it well worth it.

Teachers Can Use Settings to Minimize Misbehavior of Students

Even when the virtual teacher is able to limit class attendance to only the students on his or her roster, problems can arise when students misbehave by introducing distracting or inappropriate material. Luckily, savvy virtual teachers can manipulate the Zoom settings to prevent students from inflicting their poor behavior choices onto their classmates.

Limiting Share Screen to the Instructor

In order to avoid the broadcasting of inappropriate or distracting material by a student, teachers can manipulate the settings so that only the teacher has the “share screen” option. Using this technique prohibits students from sharing inappropriate images and videos during the Zoom meeting and allows the teacher to maintain control of what the students see on their screens.

Mute Feature

Students may, intentionally or unintentionally, distract or offend their classmates and teachers when their microphones are on. Teachers can minimize or eliminate this problem by muting the microphones of all students. This practice allows the teacher to call on students one at a time or to prohibit students from addressing the class directly.

Cameras Off

As with microphones, the camera feature can also be problematic in a virtual classroom. Teachers can eliminate issues by turning off the students’ cameras. This way, the teacher can control what students see during the Zoom meeting.

Controlling Chat Settings

Even with cameras and microphones off, some students can’t resist the temptation to try to disrupt class through the chat feature. Luckily, teachers can adjust the chat settings so that students’ comments can only be seen by the teacher and not the other members of the class. By locking down the chat feature in this way, the teacher can enable students to communicate questions about the lesson without giving them an opportunity to disrupt the class. In addition to the added security, many students find it to be more comfortable communicating their questions privately to their teacher.

What Can Parents Do to Keep Their Children Safe During Zoom Classes?

Parents should ask questions about the security measures the teacher has taken to maintain a safe and structured learning environment.

If a problem occurs, parents should not hesitate to report it to the teacher so that new strategies can be implemented. Ultimately, when thoughtful procedures and protections are utilized, virtual classes can be safe places of learning for all students.

If you’re looking for a safe homeschool curriculum option, you might want to consider Essentials in Writing. We offer an online class solution for struggling student writers, as well as a creative writing class, and a college prep class for your older students. Essentials in Writing will help your student become a better writer through engaging mini-lessons and meaningful feedback on written assignments.

Homeschoolers Don’t Have an Online Learning Curve

Online classes are a terrific option for homeschool students because they can pick and choose which subjects to study through online learning and which to continue studying with their parents. This way, parents can feel confident that their children are receiving a top-notch education despite any limitations in the parents’ educational backgrounds or abilities.

Homeschool students are often taught primarily by their parents, but as they progress into upper-level high school courses like calculus or physics, they sometimes need more support than what their parents can provide.

Homeschooling Can Help Students with Social Anxiety and Other Mental Health Concerns

Affecting nearly thirty million Americans, social anxiety’s signs usually appear starting at age thirteen. Making the transition from middle school to high school can be challenging for even the most self-confident students, but it can be completely overwhelming for students who suffer from anxiety disorders and other mental health concerns.

An online learning environment can greatly benefit students with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) and other mental health challenges.

Online learning allows students to work at a slower pace without the added pressure of trying to keep up with other students. In addition, online learning allows students who struggle to focus in crowded or noisy settings to attend class in an environment that is more comfortable.

In addition, online learning allows students to communicate privately with their instructors during class, which makes them more likely to ask questions or seek clarification about the course content or instructions for assignments.

For many students with mental health concerns, online learning satisfies their academic needs while minimizing the problems that can occur in a traditional school setting.

Online Learning Allows Flexibility for Growth

Online learning enables students to keep up with their studies without the scheduling constraints of a traditional school. Some students need more scheduling flexibility than a traditional school provides.

Child actors, musical prodigies, and highly competitive athletes, to give a few examples, often train at their craft for hours each day and may need to travel frequently for performances and competitions. Spending six or seven hours in a traditional school setting is not an ideal fit for students like these.

Online Learning Helps Protect Students with Medical Conditions

Enrolling in online learning allows these students to attend classes without setting foot in a physical school building. Students with chronic medical conditions often struggle to maintain consistent attendance in a traditional school setting for a variety of reasons. As an added benefit, students with weakened immune systems don’t have to risk being exposed to illnesses in a crowded classroom in order to get an education. For these students, online learning can literally be a life saver!

Online Learning Allows for Studying Abroad

Travel offers its own educational benefits, but families who travel may need some academic support, especially as students move into secondary school.

As more employers offer the option to work remotely, some families are choosing to hit the road for extended periods of time, and by enrolling their children in online learning, families maintain the flexibility to move freely while ensuring their children’s academic growth.

Students Can Outgrow Their Local Schools

Enrolling in online learning allows students to access educational options that aren’t constrained by geographic location. In some cases, a student may want to take classes, such as higher-level math or career prep courses, that their local school district doesn’t provide. As long as the student has internet access, he or she has a world of learning opportunities available with the click of a button.

Homeschool Success Stories

Adeline Baker, a high school student in Pennsylvania, turned to online learning through CAOLA (Capital Area Online Learning Association) when she was recovering from mono and needed to catch up on coursework. She enjoyed the format so much that she decided to continue her online studies. Baker says that online learning is a “wonderful experience” that has allowed her to more easily manage her frequent migraine headaches and to advance her acting career. She enjoys the flexible schedule that enables her to attend auditions, rehearsals, and performances. As a result, Baker has landed work in a New York City play, two movies, and a TV show. “I would not be able to do what I love without cyber school,” said Baker. “I am so glad I have this option!”

John Bukshtine, a non-verbal student from Visalia, CA, was hesitant to try online learning when his mother enrolled him in Learn4Life. He says, “Much to my surprise, my new school became my new home. Instead of shoving me into a box, it built one that fit me. I think this is how school should be. Fitting themselves to students instead of the other way around.” He has graduated from high school and is now enrolled in online classes at College of the Sequoias.

An anonymous high school student who enrolled in the Essentials in Writing Virtual Class for Struggling Writers credits the experience with making him a better writer. He said, “This class has enormously improved my writing. I have always had extreme struggles with writing, and I can’t say that it has not been without a little blood, sweat, and tears. Writing has always been my worst class, and I just have to say that this class has been easy and fun! I have noticed my writing improving and my ideas are coming out onto the paper better.”

If you’re looking for an online program in writing for your homeschool student, you might want to consider Essentials in Writing. Offering a virtual class for struggling writers, a creative writing class, and a college prep class, Essentials in Writing will help your student become a better writer through engaging mini-lessons and meaningful feedback on written assignments.