It's imperative that teachers inform parents prior to the end of the year that his/her student is likely to fail a course.  I modified another teacher's 4th Term Progress Report to document the fact that I notified the parents.  The document is particular to my specific class and would need to be further tailored for your particular class.  Last year, I had assigned a project but had not yet graded it, so I informed the parents about whether their child submitted a project.  Also, last year I had a provision that if a student made at least 90% on a huge skills packet that covered the entire year's curriculum AND passed a comprehensive exam, he/she could pass the course despite the prior terms' grades.  (No one passed by this provision, but I used it to cut down on behavior problems by giving the students hope that they could still pass.)

I made copies of the notifications and sent them home with the students.  I offered bonus points if the students returned the notices signed.  Most did not, so I had to follow up with a phone call.  Note that some schools will mail documents to parents for you so that you will not have to rely on students taking the notifications home.

Template for Letter

http://mtcorps.pbwiki.com/f/Progress%20Report.doc

Teaches Name

Student Name

Subject

Date

Daily Grades

(See missing assignments on assignment list.)

Quiz Grades

Test Grades

Submitted

Project

(Test Grade) (Y/N)      __________

First Semester Average

Term 3 Average

Required Second Semester

Average to Pass Class

With 70%

Semester grade will be calculated as follows: [((Term 3 + Term 4)/2) x 0.90] + [Semester Exam x 0.1]

___If checked, your child/ward needs to complete a comprehensive skills packet (with 90% accuracy) AND pass a comprehensive final exam in order to pass this course.

Teacher Comments:

Parent/Guardian Signature & Date