Back to the ten starting points
Marks are falling
Find the change before choosing the repair.
One lower mark does not explain the cause. Choose the pattern you can see in recent work, and use the next guide to check it.
If the pattern is still unclear, start with orientation. When the decline has stopped, move to maintaining reliable work.
I am still unsureKeep performance steadyRead the full guide belowA falling mark is a signal, not a diagnosis.
The same score decline can come from very different causes: harder texts, weaker question interpretation, rushed writing, unstable grammar, poor evidence selection, slower execution, fatigue, overconfidence, or simply a change in task demands. The useful question is not “Why is English getting worse?” but “Where did reliable performance first begin to fail?”
First separate a bad result from a real trend
One disappointing test may be noise. A real decline usually leaves a pattern across several pieces of work. Compare the same skill across time: comprehension with comprehension, timed writing with timed writing, language editing with language editing. Then compare the conditions. Was the latest task longer, less familiar, more inferential, more time constrained or marked to a different standard?
The four places marks usually leak
- Understanding: the student misreads text, task or question.
- Selection: the student notices material but chooses the wrong evidence, ideas or level of detail.
- Expression: the student understands but cannot organise or phrase the answer precisely enough.
- Execution: the student can perform the skill in practice but not reliably under time and pressure.
These leaks often stack. Iona may read accurately yet over-infer. Maren may have good ideas but spend too long discovering the structure while writing. Leonie may know how to answer but lose the last section because earlier decisions consumed too much time.
Do error analysis before adding workload
Use English Exam Error Analysis to trace lost marks backwards. A vague answer might not be a vocabulary problem. It could begin with a vague reading of the question. A weak essay might not begin with grammar. It could begin with poor selection of ideas. Repairing the visible mistake without repairing the earlier cause creates temporary improvement at best.
If comprehension is falling
Look for changes in evidence control, inference and answer scope. The full framework is in English Reading Performance. Ask whether the student can identify what is explicitly stated, what is reasonably implied, and how much the question requires.
If writing is falling
Check the whole production sequence rather than only the finished script. The relevant framework is English Writing Performance: task interpretation, idea selection, planning, development, sentence control and final editing.
If performance collapses mainly in examinations
The knowledge may be present but insufficiently trained for transfer. English Examination Performance explains how to build practice that survives unfamiliarity, time pressure and consequence.
A seven-step recovery cycle
- Collect three to five recent samples.
- Mark recurring error types.
- Separate knowledge, interpretation and execution errors.
- Identify the earliest repeated cause.
- Run short targeted repair practice.
- Retest the same skill under controlled conditions.
- Return to full examination conditions only after the repair is stable.
Recovery evidence loop: prove what changed
A falling score is a signal to investigate, not proof that the learner has globally become weaker. Before adding work, build a three-point comparison: baseline → repaired attempt → fresh check.
| Evidence point | Question | Useful record |
|---|---|---|
| Baseline | Where does the first repeatable loss appear? | Original task, condition, error/decision and support available. |
| Repaired attempt | Can the learner change that decision with focused feedback? | What feedback/support changed and what improved. |
| Fresh check | Does the repair survive a changed task without the same prompt? | New task, remaining support, outcome and any new bottleneck. |
If the repaired attempt improves but the fresh check does not, do not call the repair complete. The issue may be retrieval, transfer, task interpretation or support dependence rather than missing knowledge. Use How Feedback Changes Performance to refine the repair and How English Learning Transfers to test changed conditions.
Exit condition: move from recovery to maintenance when the repaired capability appears across more than the original task and no longer requires intensive prompting. One improved mark is encouraging evidence; it is not by itself the release criterion.
What recovery should look like
Recovery is not simply one higher score. It is a reduction in repeated error, clearer decisions, fewer avoidable losses and greater stability across different tasks. The goal is to make the repaired behaviour available without constant prompting.
Where to go next
If you still cannot identify the cause, return to I Am Lost. Once performance stops falling, move to Keep Them Steady. When stability is secure and the aim changes from recovery to advancement, continue to Help Them Progress.
Explore the English Learning Library: practice and feedback; parent support.