Regardless of the grades your child brings home, look for something positive to comment on first. Even a slight improvement deserves a positive comment, and if your child has been having a fair amount of trouble in a specific area, the attention you give to his improvement can encourage him to continue his progress. If your child feels proud of a grade for which he worked hard, compliment him on the success of his efforts.Show compassion and understanding when reacting to a bad report card, even if you feel disappointed. Talk with your child about what went wrong. A grade that comes as a surprise to you can be unexpected and disheartening to your child, as well.

One bad grade or problematic report card does not spell life-long academic failure. Keep it in perspective; a report card is only one measure of your child's strengths and does not measure his capabilities, but rather the work he produced during a specific time period. A report card is a measure not just of your child's work, but also of his teacher's specific educational values. For example, an exceptional creative writer may do terribly in an English class that stresses the mechanics of writing.

Report cards don't tell the whole story of your child's semester but they are a good jumping-off point. Don't just look at the grades on the report card; remember to look carefully at the comments as well. Grades should be a measure of academic work and not behavior or attitude, unless there is a designated mark for behavior. A teacher should never punish your child for disruptive behavior by lowering his grades. If you think this is happening, talk to the teacher and set up a more effective way to address the problematic behavior.

Instead of criticizing his mistakes, guide your child toward finding remedies. By asking him, "How would you grade yourself?" or "What would you have done differently?" you will end up with creative brainstorming, insights, and a way to turn things around.

Once or twice a year, pull out your child's previous reports cards to look for larger trends in his work. Check to see if your child has been improving, struggling with certain subjects, or staying consistent across the board. Compare the grades your child receives with his expectations and skills. If there's a serious discrepancy, it may be time to sit down and discuss how he can change his approach to work and his study patterns.

Try not to have your child walk away feeling bad about himself because he has not lived up to your expectations. Even constructive feedback can feel disheartening to a child. If your child berates himself over a less-than-perfect mark, reassure him that he doesn't need to be perfect, he just needs to try his best. It is important for children to strive for improvement, learn persistence, and possess the ability to live with occasional disappointing results.

Follow-up Action Plan

Approach a bad grade as if you were a "grade detective." If your child is not performing up to his ability, your challenge is to find out why.

Review files of your child's work after seeing his report card to determine where the bad marks may have come from. Are the report card grades what you would expect based on the semester's work? Has your child had trouble on the tests, quizzes, or homework portions of the grade? Report cards measure grades for several months at a time. While your child may have been working very hard at the end of the grading period and received substantially better grades too late in the semester to make an impact, the first few bad scores of the year may have been hard to bounce back from.

Sometimes teachers make mistakes while entering grades. If the grade on a report card does not seem correct to you or your child, call the teacher to discuss it.

Set up a conference with the teacher to find out what went wrong and what your child can do to bring up his grades for the next round of evaluations, especially if they do not reflect the time and effort he is putting in.Explain to the teacher why you are surprised and concerned about the marks your child obtained. Request to go over samples of your child's work so you can explore together where the problems may be coming from. Ask the teacher what she feels is missing from your child's work and what improvements he can make.

Look into available school resources, such as a writing center or language lab, and investigate resources outside of school, including commercial learning centers and tutors. Meet with the school's counselor, especially if your child's grade problems stem from behavioral problems or there is a possibility he has a learning disorder.

Develop a written plan for improvement and outline everyone's role and responsibilities. This plan for your child's success should be as detailed as possible and involve specific things you can do at home to help your child, such as assisting with difficult homework, going over test-taking skills, or working on supplemental material.

Don't wait until your child's next report card to evaluate the success of your plan. Establish realistic goals for the next grading period, such as having your child hand in every homework assignment completed and on time. Break this down into smaller steps that you and the teacher can monitor and set up a system to keep on top of whether the plan is working, like a weekly update letter or phone call.

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