Q: My son Ben, a rising high school freshman, had an academic setback this year. I know he can do better, but he now thinks he's "dumb." He's dropping his old friends and hanging out with slackers. How can I help get him back on track?

A: First, friends matter. A recent study from the National Science Foundation suggests that good grades are "contagious." Researchers found that students whose friends' average GPA score was higher than their own at the start of the year were more likely to improve their grades. Conversely, students with higher GPAs whose friends had lower grades saw their own grades drop over the year. So encourage him to retain healthy friendships.

Second, read "Turnaround Tools for the Teenage Brain," by educators Eric Jensen and Carole Snider (Jossey-Bass, 2013). While written for teachers, parents will find plenty of help in it.

The authors explain in plain English what recent research tells us about our brains. They offer actionable advice and suggest strategies to help teens develop an important understanding: Intelligence is not fixed. Hard work, effort and determination are key factors in getting good grades, and they often trump talent.

Third, let Ben in on what Jensen and Snider call the "great attitude secret." Cynical teens may not want to believe that our attitudes, negative or positive, have a tremendous influence on academic success, but the research is persuasive.

Jensen and Snider suggest three techniques to teach teens the art of attitude adjustment:

-- Maintain learned optimism. This means monitoring negative self-talk and being able to honestly "reframe" an event. ("I messed up this test, but I'll do better on the next one.")

-- Assume personal accountability. Learn to stop the blame game and begin to own one's success. ("I'm sorry! I forgot to write down that assignment. I will finish it in study hall.")

-- Develop a growth mindset. Recent research into the brain tells us that intelligence isn't fixed; it's malleable, and the brain grows and changes every day.

"This means that students aren't stuck where they are," says Snider. "There's always hope. Students need to know this."

Integrate the following approaches into your conversations with Ben:

-- Avoid labels such as "smart" and "dumb." Instead, discuss progress in terms of benchmarks, says Jensen: "Here's where you are now. Here's where we want you to be next month. What do you need do next to get there?"

-- Affirm signs of a positive attitude. If he has succeeded at something, praise his optimism. ("That powerful attitude kept you going and helped you succeed.") If he stumbled or made a mistake, let him know it's OK. ("It's all right to fail. We all do now and then. It's what you do after a failure that determines success.")

-- Make praise specific. ("I'm impressed with how well you researched your report!") When you praise for effort you foster perseverance, says Jensen.

"You're pointing out the steps to success," he says, "and showing him that continued hard work reaps untold benefits."

(Do you have a question about your child's education? Email it to Leanna@aplusadvice.com. Leanna Landsmann is an education writer who began her career as a classroom teacher. She has served on education commissions, visited classrooms in 49 states to observe best practices, and founded Principal for a Day in New York City.)

Q: My daughter, Caroline, is a top student who hates to see school end. She's a rising fifth-grader, reading at a high-school level. What can I do to keep her challenged until school starts? We can't afford camp.

A: You're smart to make challenging her a priority. Summer learning loss is real, even for highly intelligent kids, if they simply "veg out" for weeks on end.

According to the National Summer Learning Association (summerlearning.org), if students do not engage in educational activities to keep up their skills in the summer months, many can lose up to two months of grade-level equivalency in math during that time; in addition, many students will typically score lower on standardized tests at the end of summer vacation than they do on the same tests at the beginning.

Start by celebrating the year Caroline just spent in the fourth grade, says Bill Laraway, a fifth-grade teacher at Silver Oak Elementary in San Jose, Calif.

"It's a milestone and a good time for reflection," he says. "The last day of school can be more important than the first for students."

Discuss what she accomplished in fourth grade that will help her in fifth. What did she achieve? What is she especially proud of?

"You want Caroline to remember the year's total accomplishments -- not just the great report card," says Laraway. "Together, create a document -- scrapbook, video, or time capsule -- to cherish for years to come. Include her best work, titles of favorite books, photos and other mementos that reflect the year's highlights. Let the things she's most excited about guide you to summer activities she enjoys."

Next, tee up activities that will help develop her interests. If she likes a certain book series, check them out from the library. Search for online courses in topics she might enjoy. Give her real tasks to perform around the home such as researching products you might buy, analyzing comparative cellphone plans or checking the grocery list for the best prices. Search garage sales for certain items, such as kits and books she'll like.

Use summer projects to boost planning skills. "There's a big difference between fourth and fifth grade," says Laraway. "There's less hand-holding and more emphasis on becoming independent learners. Build up your daughter's organizational skills by having her help plan summer events. Teach her how to 'backwards map' what needs to be done for each event well before the day arrives.

"She'll need those skills for projects and other multiday assignments come fall."

While she is too young to be hired, you might be able to find her a worthy mentor who'd welcome her into the workplace to perform interesting tasks. That way, she can learn about and contribute to a work environment.

Don't give up on camp. "Many school districts and colleges understand that our brightest kids need summer school, too, and offer a range of free or low-cost enrichment programs," says Laraway. Check with your district and the National Association of Gifted Children site (www.nagc.org) to access its summer camp directory.

Before she enters fifth grade, make sure that she gets every resource your district offers its gifted and talented students.

(Do you have a question about your child's education? Email it to Leanna@aplusadvice.com. Leanna Landsmann is an education writer who began her career as a classroom teacher. She has served on education commissions, visited classrooms in 49 states to observe best practices, and founded Principal for a Day in New York City.)

Q: Our district tested the Common Core State Standards this spring. One of my son's third-grade classmates refused to take the test on his father's orders. His dad, a high school teacher, thinks the Common Core involves "needless testing." Two other parents disrupted a school board meeting, saying the standards amount to governmental intrusion into schools. The Common Core makes sense to me. Am I missing something?

A: The new Common Core State Standards make sense to most parents who take the time to study them.

A few facts: The new standards were driven by the states -- not the federal government or the U.S. Department of Education.

They are the culmination of a rigorous 20-year process initiated by state governors. The process sought input from parents, teachers, researchers, subject-area specialists, business leaders and policymakers throughout the country and across the political spectrum.

The standards were created in response to trend lines over three decades that showed our schools were not preparing a large segment of U.S. students for college or careers, especially in science, math, engineering, technology and communications.

"The Common Core State Standards are a foundation for a high-quality education," says Bill Jackson, president of greatschools.org, an education resource for parents. "When you're told your son is reading at the third-grade level, you need to know that it means something. Right now, there are 50 different ideas about what 'third-grade level' means. Common state standards will make it easier for parents to really know how well their children are doing in school."

For generations, the U.S. educational system has been a patchwork of different states' learning objectives. What a student is supposed to know by the end of eighth grade in one state was often different from the goals for a child in another. Yet we live in a mobile society.

"At greatschools.org, we hear stories of families moving to another state to find that their child is repeating content taught earlier in their former school. Or their child is far behind classmates in a new school," says Jackson. "Education is the prerogative of states and districts, but mastering fractions should mean the same thing in Alabama as in California or Maine."

The new suggested standards have been adopted by 45 states and the District of Columbia. Full implementation starts in 2014. Some states and districts, to their credit, gave them a dry run this spring to establish a baseline.

The state standards were also built in alignment with state university leaders, meaning that students who meet the 12th-grade level standards are prepared for higher education. The new standards don't change the fact that states and districts are in charge of determining how to accomplish the learning objectives, what curriculum approaches and materials to use, and how teachers and administrators assess students' progress.

"When parents learn more about the states' standards, they'll likely support them," says Jackson. "They provide all students from all states an equal opportunity to reach high academic standards in mathematics and English language arts."

For more on the Common Core State Standards, go to www.corestandards.org.

(Do you have a question about your child's education? Email it to Leanna@aplusadvice.com. Leanna Landsmann is an education writer who began her career as a classroom teacher. She has served on education commissions, visited classrooms in 49 states to observe best practices, and founded Principal for a Day in New York City.)