9th Grade

Achieving (and Keeping) a High GPA

Students aren’t the only ones feeling the pressure to achieve a high grade point average. Homeschool parents feel the pressure too – especially since they’re the ones doing the teaching! Since GPA plays such a large part in college admission decisions (and colleges only look at grades 9-12), high school GPA is a hot topic with homeschoolers.

How can you get (and keep) a high GPA? In subjects where a student is skilled, passionate, or both, achieving that “A” may not be a problem. But for your creative-writing daughter, math may be the threat to her 4.0. For your analytical son, literature might be bringing down his grades. Here are some ways to combat the drooping GPA and get I back up to par as the semester ends:

Accountability

Since many homeschool students are largely self-taught and self-motivated, there may be subjects that slip through the cracks. Students who hate science may try to put off parts of the module as long as possible which – if not caught early enough – can land them in the catch-up zone. If your child struggles to get their work done on time, consider establishing a weekly accountability meeting. Go over their work and evaluate their progress. You’ll be able to pinpoint the weak areas and get help where needed before the problem is exacerbated.

Healthy Competition

Some students are motivated by friendly competition. Being surrounded by siblings or friends who are working toward good grades can motivate a student to push himself in tough subjects. In my own homeschool experience, my friends and siblings had a healthy competition over our ACT test scores. We would study hard to beat one another’s highest score (and ironically, all of us achieved the exact same score – until one took the test a second time and beat us by one point).

Obviously, some students are not motivated by competition. For these students, competition actually makes them feel inadequate. They will need a different method of motivation to improve their GPA – perhaps getting a tutor.

Tutoring

Previous emails have mentioned tutoring and though it may sound like a big commitment, it doesn’t have to be. Tutoring is as simple as finding someone more advanced in a subject than your child is. This could be a family member, a fellow homeschool mom, or another homeschool student! One-on-one academic attention – particularly if you don’t have time to give it personally – can make a world of difference in a student’s grades.

Making school fun

Homeschool is fun: the very nature of it allows students to receive an education catered to their interests and needs. Sometimes we get caught up in the hectic schedule and forget how fun it’s supposed to be! If your student’s grades are suffering, consider how you can make the subjects more engaging. When a child is passionate about what they’re learning, they are far more likely to achieve that elusive “A+”!