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Low Exam Scores

What is the problem about?

When children score marks lower than their classmates, they are often regarded as duffers by their parents and relatives. There is a mindset prevalent in Indian society to compare the academic performance of children with their peers. Children with good scores are regarded intelligent while those with poor marks become the subject of ridicule and are considered to be dumb.

Some children often score lower marks in a particular subject. However, cases of children getting lower marks in all the subjects are very rare.

Getting low scores in exam is considered as demeaning by the parents. Parents usually see the future of these children as dark and remain worried. Teenaged children too start considering their low academic performance as the end of the road. This sometimes forces them to take extreme steps such as suicide. Therefore, the problem of getting lower marks in exams should be addressed properly.

Signs/symptoms to look for

Some children continually score low marks in exams.
Children often score lower marks in a particular subject rather than all subjects.
Parents and relatives regard such children as incompetent.
Some children take low performance in exams to heart and go to the extent of committing suicide.

Causes

Children are often rated as brilliant or duffer on the basis of their academic performance only. Getting low scores in exam is considered shameful/mortifying by the parents, leading the children to consider themselves worthless and further neglect their studies. There are both medical and behavioural reasons for this problem.

Children considered weak in one field of study may be above average in another. According to educationist Steven Rudolf, there are a total of nine distinct natures of human being. When parents fail to recognise the specific nature in their children and try to blindly force all the subjects taught in school upon them, the children find it difficult to cope up the situation.

Parents usually do not keep a track of the activities of their children during an entire academic year. Enquiring about the child’s academic state of affairs toward the end of the academic year usually results in surprises. This unnecessarily pressurises the children and they ultimately end up with poor results.

There are, however, other medical reasons for poor academic performance like ADHD (hyperactivity), lack of memory, lack of concentration, etc. Other things may contribute to this too, like fatigue, mood-change, and physical disability.

Solutions

Low marks in exams can both be a behavioural and a medical problem. Parents can bring in a sea change in the academic performance of the children by introducing some changes in their own as well as and their children’s habits. The first step in this direction is to identify the nature of your child in accordance with the suggested nine multiple natures of human beings put forward by educator Steven Rudolf. You can then prioritise the subjects taught in school according to the nature of your child.

Changing habits of children at home helps boost academic performance. Make sure your children have plenty of rest. A good night’s sleep is the key to proper function during the day. Give your children a nutritious breakfast before school and snack after school. Make sure that your child gets plenty of exercise.

Ensure that they do their homework and study at home on a regular basis. Homework teaches children how to work independently and learn good study habits. By helping your children do their homework you know what is going on at school and what is expected of them. Provide your children with a suitable place to study where they can concentrate properly.

Try to develop your children’s test-taking skills. Ensure that your children reach the exam hall in advance. Ask them to always read the directions on the test very carefully. If they do not understand a portion or segment of the test, they should ask prior to attempting it. A good way for children to manage the test would be to examine the entire test first and then break it down into smaller portions. If they see items on the test that are especially easy for them, it might not be a bad idea to do those first, and thereafter move on to more challenging questions. It is also important to review what the children have done prior to submitting the test.

In case your children are suffering from some other problem/medical condition, they need expert guidance. If you have tried all the above suggestions but still have questions regarding educating your children, please feel free to contact us. Jiva provides you consultation for these kinds of problems. You may contact Jiva at 0129-4088152 or write to us at asksteve@jiva.com. We will try our best to give a solution to your child’s problem with our expertise.

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