It can be a distressing experience to find out that your child is working at a level below their peers, particularly if this comes as a surprise to you.  If you are in New Zealand you may've just found out through the new reporting regulations that your child is "Below" or "Well Below" the National Standard for Numeracy or Literacy for their Year level.  Firstly, take a deep breath because it can be a stressful piece of information to take in.   We all want our children to succeed academically and to be told that they are falling behind is of obvious concern.  But there are some things to keep in mind...

* You are not alone - the National Standards have been set with the expectation that there will be a bell curve of results, it is likely that almost every second kid will not be at the standard but until we have had a year of data we cannot know for sure.  Note also that the time of year that your child is tested has a big effect.  It is quite normal to still be working towards the Year 4 standard when your child has not long been in that Year group.

*  PROGRESS is what matters the most.  It doesn't matter if your child's level of Numeracy or Literacy is a bit behind - what is vital is that they are making progress.  If you are unsure, check with their teacher.  Some children take longer to learn than others and what they don't get one year may suddenly 'click' the next as their brain develops.  Your child may consistently reach the National Standard for their Year level about six months after their peers - and while it means every year they may fall just under the standard on their report, it also means they are progressing as each year they are being assessed against a tougher standard.   To use a simple analogy, imagine I was with a group of mates trying in 2009 to run a kilometre in 5 minutes and at the end of the year we raced a kilometre together and I took 5mins and 30 seconds, - I didn't come last but I was just below the goal time.  In 2010 imagine that I was now aiming to run a kilometre in 4 minutes and when I timed myself at the end of the year I took 4 minutes and 30 seconds- darn, I didn't quite reach the standard again!  This could get a bit disheartening if I was repeatedly told what a failure I was, when really I wasn't failing - my time was improving.  To sum up - keep a close eye to see if your child is falling further behind the standard each year or whether they are progressing, but just taking a little longer than their peers.  The former will need more intense intervention to fix than the latter.

*  Don't underestimate the ability of a child to catch-up even if it seems like a daunting task.  If you do a little bit with them often - it will make a difference.  There is a lot of 'down-time' in the typical school day.  A child only gets a matter of minutes of teaching targeted to their specific Numeracy and Literacy needs each day at school - if you do ten minutes with them at home each day it is very significant.

*  All children are different and have varying strengths and weaknesses.  Our education system only sets National Standards for Literacy and Numeracy.  Your child may be fantastic in other areas of the curriculum - with National Standards it is easy to forget to check with their teacher how they are going with their social interactions, with their Science, with their sport etc. 

*  The end goal is to prepare your child for life in the real world.  Don't forget that all sorts of factors play a part in a child's eventual success in this world.  Success within the education system certainly helps open doors for people but I could tell you of plenty of kids that struggled with their school work yet went on to have very successful careers.  The thing these students had in common was a supportive, loving family and self-belief.   Before you put yourself through a guilt trip about what you could've done to prevent school 'failures', and before you get carried away with the homework - know that the most important thing is simply to love them unconditionally.