Questions Parents Should Ask at a Parent-Teacher Conference

Parent-teacher conferences are designed to provide you with accurate and helpful feedback about your child's educational performance, but sometimes it's easy to leave feeling like you still don't have the full picture of where your child stands. However, when you are armed with the right questions, you can gain a much richer and more comprehensive picture of just how your child is doing in school. Below are five questions for a parent-teacher conference that will help you better assess your child's learning and gain a better rapport with your child's teacher. Use them and feel more confident that you know exactly where your child falls and how you can help make his educational experience the best it can be.

Name 3 Strengths and Three Areas That Need Improvement
Beginning your parent-teacher conference with this question will provide you with a quick overview of your child's performance in the classroom, especially in areas that may not be assessed on a report card, such as behavior or learning style. It will also help focus the conference, as you zero in on exactly where your child is at this point in the school year. You can then choose to ask the teacher to elaborate if you need further clarification or understanding about how your child is doing in any given area.

Is My Child Improving?
This question is helpful because it goes beyond the actual grades your child is receiving and gets to the heart of what matters, which is whether or not your child is showing growth in each subject area. Instead of focusing on the actual grades, take the time to learn whether or not your child is progressing, stagnant, or regressing in the major subject areas. This can be a lot more telling than an actual grade, and as long as your child is progressing, your child is therefore learning, which is the most important thing.

When and How Does My Child Participate in Class?
While some children are naturally more vocal than others, it can be very telling to learn when your child participates the most and when he chooses to hang back. Learning this information can clue you in to what your child feels the most and least confident in, as well as areas your child may need more help. For instance, if your child regularly refrains from giving input in a certain subject area or activity, this may be an area that he feels unsure about, needs help with, or could use some encouragement in. As a parent, you can use this information at home to talk through any struggles or insecurities your child is having and focus on ways you can help him improve.

Does My Child Ever Seem Frustrated or Bored?
This question is another way to look at your child's strengths and weaknesses, and by approaching the issue in this manner, you may get feedback that your child's teacher hadn't thought about before. If your child seems regularly frustrated, he may need extra help in a certain subject matter or with a certain skill. Conversely, if he's regularly bored, he may need extra enrichment and challenge to keep his mind occupied. Be willing, as a parent, to be part of the solution by taking an active role in working alongside your child's teacher to either find help or enrichment. Remember that your child's teacher has many other students to care for each day, so be proactive in helping your child get the best help possible; this will not only help your child, but his teacher will greatly appreciate attentive and helpful parents.

What Can I Do at Home to Support My Child's Learning?
There have been many studies which show that children who receive regular educational support and encouragement at home do better at school and tend to excel beyond the average. Therefore, learning how to best support your child's education at home will reap many benefits. And your child's teacher will appreciate the partnership with you, knowing that your child is getting bolstering at home that supports his teacher's efforts at school. His teacher will probably be more open and attentive with feedback for you when she knows that you are not only wanting the information, but will support and enhance efforts she is making to better your child's education.

Remember that a parent-teacher conference is meant to provide you with helpful and accurate feedback about your child. And when you use the above questions, you'll not only gain a better understanding of how your child is doing in school, you'll communicate to your child's teacher that you value not only her daily efforts in the classroom, but education in general, which will go a long way towards building a positive parent-teacher relationship.