I'll 3rd cabbage's post on grades! In Texas, there were 3 academic tracks to graduation. Every Aug, I had the kids write down a detail of what they wanted to achieve/accomplish in each subject. And then, periodically throughout the year, we'd compare those goals to results. It taught them to be accountable to themselves, to be realistic, organized & efficient with their time. They knew top 10% was guaranteed admission to State Schools, so that was a good motivator. Good prep for heading off to college.