Monitoring Your Child's Progress

Overview

Most quality ed tech platforms offer parent-facing dashboards that give you a window into your child's learning — what they're working on, where they're struggling, and how much time they're spending. This guide shows you how to make the most of those tools without turning progress monitoring into a source of pressure.

Why Monitoring Matters (and What It's Actually For)

Progress data isn't about catching your child slacking — it's about understanding where they are so you can provide the right support. When you know your child has been stuck on the same math concept for three sessions in a row, you can have a conversation, loop in their teacher, or just offer encouragement.

The goal is informed support, not surveillance.

Setting Up Parent Dashboards: Overview by Platform

Khan Academy

Go to khanacademy.org and create a parent account
Add your child as a learner (they'll need their own account)
From your parent dashboard, you can see time spent, skills practiced, and mastery progress
You can also assign specific content for your child to work through

Prodigy Math

Sign up at prodigygame.com as a parent
Link your child's account using a parent code
The parent dashboard shows math skills practiced, time in-app, and grade-level placement
You can set a "Focus" area to direct your child's practice

Epic!

Create a parent account at getepic.com
The parent dashboard shows books read, reading time, and what your child has been exploring
You can also curate a custom library of books for your child

Newsela

If your child's school uses Newsela, ask their teacher for a parent access link
If accessing independently, the platform shows reading activity and quiz performance

What to Look For When Reviewing Progress

You don't need to analyze the data like a teacher. Here are the simple signals worth noticing:

Consistent use: Is your child logging in regularly, or are there long gaps?
Skill progression: Are they moving forward, or getting stuck at the same level?
Time vs. outcomes: If your child is spending a lot of time but not showing much growth, they may need a different approach or some support.
Engagement patterns: Some platforms show which types of content your child gravitates toward — useful for understanding their interests and strengths.

How to Talk to Your Child About Their Progress

Framing matters. Compare these two approaches:

✗ Avoid

"I saw you only did 10 minutes on Khan Academy. Why so little?"

✓ Try

"I noticed you've been working on fractions this week — that's a tricky topic. How is it feeling?"

Progress conversations work best when they're curious, not critical. Ask your child to explain what they've been working on. Let them show you something from the platform. Celebrate milestones, even small ones.

When to Bring in the Teacher

Reach out to your child's teacher if you notice:

Consistent struggle with a specific skill over multiple weeks
Your child expressing frustration or refusing to engage with a platform
Progress data that seems inconsistent with how they're doing on schoolwork and tests

A brief email saying "I've noticed [child's name] keeps getting stuck on [topic] on Khan Academy — is this something you're seeing in class too?" is a valuable and welcomed communication for most teachers.

Balancing Oversight With Autonomy

As children get older, they need more ownership of their own learning. A parent dashboard is most useful for elementary-age kids. By middle school, consider shifting to a weekly check-in conversation rather than logging into the dashboard every day. By high school, your role is mostly to ask questions and be available — not to monitor individual sessions.

✅ Before You Close This Guide — Three Action Items:

Set up a parent account on whichever platform your child uses most, if you haven't already.
Check in on their progress once this week — not to evaluate, just to understand what they've been working on.
Use what you find to start a curious, low-pressure conversation with your child about their learning.