daugher doing poorly in school

[jmm77]

Here is my question. My 13 year old daughter started junior high this year, and is struggling. All through elementary school she got student of the month ( with the exception of the last year). She is well behaved, and seemed to do great in school until now. She is failing math, so i had her take a test at a tutoring place and found out she is at a 4th grafe level. How or why she passed math and never seemed to have any problems with it before until now is upsetting. I noticed she is extremely forgettful, messy, and disorganized. It seems to be getting worse, and her grades keep slipping. Her principal basically said she is lazy, and her teachers say she doesnt exhibit "typical ADD smptoms". It seems like she doesnt listen or if she does she forgets it right away.  Is this normal teenage behavior or possible ADD?

[Sandman2]

    Math is something that does require daily homework.  Does she do her homework?  More importantly does the teacher report her doing her homework.  Many times you can kind of skip homework in science or reading because it is not sequential.  In math, if you have skipped an area, it can come back and bite you for the rest of the year.
   Your idea of getting a local college student to help is a good one.  However, a highschool student could be just as good and cheaper.  See if the math department (either junior high or school) has a tutoring list.  I would guess that once she has caught up she will be in pretty good shape.  Although, I definitely would monitor her.
   By the way, get from the tutoring place where they saw her problems so they can be worked on by the other people.   The major advantage of a good tutoring place is that their placement exams can be pretty good. And it would be nice to know what she has "missed" so that can be worked on.

[jmm77]

Hello,

Yes, my daughter seems happy there.. She has the same friends, but it seems like she is hanging out (at school) with a few people that she hasnt before. Her Math teacher is great, and has tried to help her, but also said she doesnt seem to put forth an effort. She goes in twice a week before school and sometimes at lunch. The tutoring place is reputable, but at 2500 dollars, we are trying to see if a local college student is able to help her. She has seen her twice and so far so good. Their intentions are to get her at grage level and even start on the next year. So even though its expensive, she will do it in the summer.  So I dont know if its normal teenage things, or she is suffering.  She has always been kind of spacey, bless her heart.  I have talked ot the principal, and he said that he doesnt see any issues with her...

[MariaJose]

It is not unusual for children to struggle with academic work once they get to junior high school.  Often children who are "well behaved" throughout elementary school, teachers have a tendency to "pass" them.  It is unusual for a child who has always done well and has been described to be well behaved to suddently be called "lazy"..etc.
Is your daughter happy at the junior high?....does she continue to have the same friends?
How is her math teacher and what is she telling you?...If possible, I would speak with the school counselor as well....How accurate is the testing at the tutoring place and what are their intentions?