Signs your child may benefit from tutoring
Get tutoring help for your child →Most children struggle with something at some point, and a hard week is not a reason to hire a tutor. What matters is a pattern that lasts and does not improve with ordinary help at home or in class. These are the signs parents most often notice first.
Signs in schoolwork
- Grades in one subject have dropped and stayed down for more than a marking period.
- Homework in one subject takes far longer than the rest, or ends in tears or arguments.
- Your child can do problems with you sitting beside them but not alone.
- Teacher comments repeat the same concern across report cards.
- A skill from an earlier grade, such as multiplication facts or sounding out words, still is not secure.
Signs in how your child talks about school
- “I’m just bad at math” or “I hate reading,” said often and with conviction.
- Avoiding a subject: forgetting the book, rushing the work, or saying it is done when it is not.
- Worry before tests in one subject that was not there before.
Times when extra help is often useful even without a problem
- Moving into a new school stage, such as middle school or high school, where the pace changes.
- Preparing for an entrance exam or the SAT or ACT, which test material in an unfamiliar format.
- Catching up after a long absence or a move between schools.
What to try first
Talk with your child’s teacher. Ask what they see in class, whether the school offers extra help, and which specific skills are behind. That conversation costs nothing and gives any tutor a far better starting point.
When tutoring is not the whole answer
Tutoring helps with skills and confidence. It cannot diagnose anything. If you see difficulty across many subjects, trouble with attention, or problems with reading that do not improve with practice, ask the school or your pediatrician about an evaluation. Under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), parents anywhere in the U.S. can ask their public school, in writing, to evaluate their child at no cost. See the Center for Parent Information and Resources for how the process works.
Tell us your child’s grade, ZIP code and the subject that feels hardest. Wherever you live in the U.S., we’ll search for a tutoring provider near you. Families near Bay Ridge, Brooklyn can connect with Huntington Learning Center.
Start the questionnaireRelated guides
- How to choose a tutor for your child
- Reading tutoring: choosing support and preparing for the first conversation
- Math tutoring: what to ask at each school stage
- All parent guides