I study SO SO much for the subjects precalculus and chemistry. Both are double-accelerated (which is the equivalent of “honors” in most schools). I currently have B-'s in both, but I’m sure I study the most out of anyone in class. I put in 10+ hours of studying for each test but can’t get above an 85. It already occurred to me that I may be studying “hard” not “smart”, so I changed up my study methods. Every time I do a type of problem I write down a step by step solution to how to solve it. I do mountains of practice problems and for each one I write notes in the question and answer as to how to identify and tackle it, then turn that into a study guide. I also made my own practice quizzes which I took them. My teacher even said she wishes others adopted my study methods. I have been studying for this past test I just took for over 2 weeks (probably 15-20 hours total), hoping to raise my grade, only to find I did poorly and got a 77.
What are my options? How do I improve? I feel like I’m powerless when it comes to my grades, and there’s absolutely nothing that’s in my control. I’m a hard worker and will do anything to improve my grades but I don’t know how to. Will a tutor be able to fix this (even though I practice explaining the material to the teacher, and am successful usually)?? explaining material Do more practice? Literally everyone thinks the class is easy, and I’m determined to do well but can’t no matter what I try. Am I inherently stupid or something?
In math, if you need a step-by-step solution, this may mean you don’t understand the material well enough to solve problems you haven’t seen before. You can try to get a tutor who can tell you whether this is the case and help with better understanding. Not sure about chemistry but might be the same.
Another possibility is that you do know the material but get stressed out on the tests and make careless errors.
You need to sit down with your teacher, and go through the test question by question. Look for patterns of error. During a test, do you get nervous and forget a step? Do you miss-copy things? Do you leave steps out?
About your study habits: Do you study a bit every day, or do you put the entire 10+ hours in the weekend before the exam?
If you can afford it, I recommend a private tutor who can pinpoint exactly what you need to work on. You should also meet with the teacher and ask to look at old tests so he/she can help you understand where you are going wrong.
For math, IMHO it is best to understand why things work the way that they do. You specifically don’t want to just memorize formulae or steps in a process.
Also, in math what you learn today is very much based on what you learned last week and last year. What you will learn next week is going to be based on what you learned today as well as all that previous stuff. As such, jumping ahead is usually not a good idea.
A good tutor can help. For example, a tutor can figure out what you understand and what you don’t understand, and focus on improving your understanding of the reasons why things work the way that they do.
Double-accelerated might not be the right level.
Chemistry was my weakest science class, so I won’t comment on that.
Look at the questions you got wrong as a whole and see if you can find a theme.
Have you done this type of question before? Did you only do the HW problems but the questions were from other parts of the chapter?
Do you not read about this type of question?
Was your homework the “basic” version of the problem and then the test is on “edge conditions” (What if x was zero? what if it was infinity?
Did you always do y=ax + b and you solved for y…but on the test you had to solve for b?
Was it math errors?
Do you just work too slowly?
Are you good at equations but bad at word problems?
You are working hard, but I don’t think you are working effectively. I think you’re spending a lot of time taking notes on solutions to problems, and as the hours go by you are getting little return for your effort. Don’t spend time writing notes, spend time solving more problems. As for that study guide, take it and throw it away. Rereading old problems with answers causes people to confuse recognition with recall. You read the solved problem and it feels familiar, but when it comes time to solve new problems on the test you can’t do it (eg recall the underlying principles and the solution). You are much better off practicing on new problems then reading thru old ones. You can get all the problems you want in books like the Problem Solver Guides for math and sciences such as https://www.amazon.com/Pre-Calculus-Problem-Solver-Solvers-Solution/dp/0878915567
My guess from reading what you wrote is you are treating math and science like other classes where the way to succeed (at least at the HS level) is by memorization. Math and science are different, you need to understand the concepts and then practice them enough to be apply to recall how to solve them. This is subtly different than what you are doing. You could hand your detailed notes to someone that has never taken the class and they could follow them to “solve” the problem but it’s hard to argue this shows they understand the question and concept.
There is a book you should read, its not a long book, called “Make it Stick”. It is about the science of learning and has lots of tips for HS and college students.
“Any tips on how to find an experienced private tutor”
A tutor could be a teacher from your school, or even a student from your school. You should be able to figure out over a few sessions whether any one particular tutor is helping you. If not, then try a different tutor.
For SAT preparation, we used a small local company where I think that the company consisted of only three people: Two tutors and a receptionist who I think might have also kept them organized.
In many cases the best tutors are just found locally.
Ask your parent to post on a local facebook parents page. TBH, having had a lot experience as both a tutor and a parent who has used tutors, word of mouth is best. You should also ask your teacher for a recommendation.