BOG Assessments ~ What Happens Next?

If you have a child 3rd grade and older, the BOGs are happening or you are anxiously awaiting results. The BOGs, Beginning of Grade assessments as they are formally known, are given early in the year to measure 3 things:

1. Where students are right now?
2. How do students compare to others in their grade?
3. Come EOGs, End of Grade assessments, how much growth was made?

Number 3, that’s the important one for both student and school success!!!

Please keep in my mind that students have had the summer off, and “summer slide” is a real thing, so don’t worry about the BOGs if your child is just slightly behind. Teachers are great and can fill in small gaps!

If your child has larger gaps, should you worry? The answer requires additional questions:

1. Where are the gaps?
2. How large are the gaps?

If your child is well below grade level, it is time to worry. For example, if your 3rd or 4th grader is missing key phonics skills, this will impact reading fluency and comprehension, even the ability to be successful with word problems in math. This is a large gap and gaps in reading lead to skill deficits in all academic areas. Future academic growth will be significantly impacted if not addressed.

So, what to do???

First, take a deep breath, examples like that listed above are common. At Huntington, we are seeing many students in the exact same situation described above.

Second, the gaps can be filled, but work outside the classroom will be necessary.

Wait, we didn’t say what to do yet. Here is the anticipated list:

1. Sit down with your child’s teacher.
   • Does an action plan to address your child’s gap need to be developed?
   • What tools can your child’s teacher suggest to assist?
   • Can extra homework (oh no) be assigned?
   • Essentially, what can be done both at home and school?
2. Sit down with your child.
   • What did he or she think of the assessments?
   • Do they understand the teacher’s lessons?
   • Together, set a schedule for use of additional resources targeting the gaps.
3. Utilize all the free educational materials provided by your school district.
4. Monitor your child’s confidence and motivation. When there are skill gaps, it can often impact confidence. A decrease in confidence leads to a lack of motivation.
5. If the above options do not work, seek out an outside resource. We prefer Huntington Learning Centers, but there are many different options. Please do your research!

Looking for some additional help this school year - check out Huntington Learning Center, Weddington. Huntington has been the nation’s recognized leader in educational services since 1977. Our mission is to give every student the best education possible. At Huntington Learning Center - Weddington, we offer children, ages 5 to 17, tutoring in Reading, Writing, Mathematics, Study Skills, Phonics, Vocabulary, Science, and SAT and ACT Preparation. Our individualized instruction is developed from comprehensive academic evaluations completed at the center. We are committed to the success of each student through this personalized instruction with our certified teachers. Each program is uniquely designed to develop the skills, confidence, and motivation for the student. We are seeing great strides every day!