Once upon a time, finding out how your child was doing in school could require weeks of patience. You waited for the parent-teacher conference, for a return phone call from school if you were concerned and, eventually, for a report card to land in the mailbox.
Now, a growing number of families can get instant access to grades and other school information through online “parent portals.”
But just because a grade can be posted hours after a test, does that mean parents should rush to the portal and discuss the B minus with their child that evening?
How often should they check on grades, and what’s the best way to handle the real-time academic updates?
“My suggestion is for parents to not make themselves crazy checking every day,” says Nancy Hill, a developmental psychologist and education professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.