Reading at home
How to Improve Your Child's Reading Comprehension
Comprehension is the half of reading you can't hear. Here are the home habits that build it, the research behind them, and how to find the one skill to practice first.
7 min read
The Test My Kid Blog
Clear answers about how your child is doing in school.
Practical, growth-minded guidance on math, reading, grade-level expectations, and the test scores schools use, written for parents who want to know where their child really stands.
Is my child on track?
Is My Child Reading at Grade Level?
A plain-English guide to what 'reading at grade level' means, how schools measure it with Lexile and MAP, and how to check at home whether your child is on track.
7 min read
Math at home
How to Help Your Child Catch Up in Math
When a teacher says your child is behind in math, the fix is precision, not volume. Here is how to find the one or two skills they actually missed and close the gap with ten focused minutes at a time.
6 min read
Math at home
My Child Hates Math. What Do I Do?
'I hate math' is almost never about math. It is about fear of being stuck or judged. Here is how to defuse the dread, find the specific skill underneath it, and rebuild your child's confidence.
6 min read
Is my child on track?
How to Tell If Your Child Is Behind in Math
Grades and gut feelings are unreliable. Here are the concrete signs a child is behind in math, what the word really means, and how to get an objective read this week.
6 min read
What kids know by grade
What Math Should a 3rd to 5th Grader Know?
A plain-English, grade-by-grade map of the math kids should master in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade, aligned to Common Core, and how to tell what actually stuck.
7 min read
Understanding test scores
iReady vs NWEA MAP, Explained for Parents
Both are adaptive tests schools use to measure reading and math. Here is the plain-English difference between iReady and NWEA MAP, and how to read each score.
7 min read