I am a sophomore taking a little more than the maximum possible course load for sophomores at my school
AP Econ, Honors Chem, Honors World, Precalc Honors Authentic Science Research, Honors Spanish, Honors English
Not trying to brag, but I study my butt off. My most difficult subjects are chem, math, and English, and I spend a lot of time on them. I literally study everything back and forth but screw up the tests, and it’s really not like I’m just memorizing. I really try to ask questions and fully understand the material. HW takes me a minimum of 5 hours a day, no distractions. I kind of am getting the feeling that the answer isn’t study harder but study smarter.
My grades right now are a B- in math, a B in chem, and A’s everywhere else
How can I get straight A’s, and how can I do better on tests? And how can study more efficiently? I’d really, truly appreciate ANY advice
Unless you really, really enjoy studying, something is wrong. 5 hours a day is too much. The recommended amount of daily homework for sophomores is 1 hour, 40 minutes. Are you getting enough sleep? I notice that I can’t seem to remember things as well when I only get 6 or 7 hours of sleep for a few days in a row. Are you active? Doing my homework after practice always helps me focus better. When you say you screw up the tests, are you talking about silly mistakes or the sudden discovery of large gaps in your understanding? Moving forward, I think it’s important to ask yourself whether you really enjoy studying this much, and let that answer factor in to your decisions about next year.
LOLOL @ski_racer 1 hour forty minutes is a really flexible number that depends on the rigor of the school and the classes your taking. I attend an extremely competitive public school (school-wide average SAT score 1450 and average AP scores are about 4.18). Literally every student I know in top classes spend at least 4 or more hours on a typical night
@google12 The National PTA and the National Education Association both endorse the “10 minute rule”, wherein the maximum amount of daily homework, in minutes, should not exceed the grade level multiplied by 10.
Talk to your teachers about things you struggle with, the instant you notice something is unclear. With math and chem especially, make sure you understand everything on previous tests even though the class moved on to something else, as these courses are cumulative.
Sleep. Teens do not get enough of it and it hurts your academic performance, particularly on tests (the tired brain can't handle both the stress of being in a testing situation plus the mental attention needed to do well)
Don't feel obligated to learn the material using the textbook provided. Websites like patrickjmt.com for math or bozeman science for chem can be very helpful. My daughter often just uses Google, too.
If you've hit your limits this year, take a little less tough schedule next year.
@ski_racer 1 hour 40 minutes?? That must be for all regular classes, no difficulty whatsoever. Do you have any suggestions to help get my hw time that low? I go to a competitive high school, and have a fairly rigorous schedule. No offense, but don’t tell me I can study for a difficult math and AP Econ test, complete worksheets of Spanish and World, study for a potential pop quiz in chem, and read 30 pages of Macbeth in less than two hours.
For math and chem, yes they are mostly silly mistakes, or that I run out of time. Sometimes I am asked application questions that I have no idea how to tackle or think about. For things like English, the quality of my ideas aren’t deep/insightful enough, or I run out of time.
@Lampo don’t feel bad about not finishing that fast. No competitive high school gives that little homework these days. But the fact is working five hours straight on homework is not healthy, either. Take breaks, prioritize your work, get sleep every night.
You’re doubled up in both social studies and science and taking more than the maximum for your grade level, so maybe scale back if your high school allows any changes for next semester.
Do you have the option of dropping down to non-honors now or after Christmas break? If you know where you are going (STEM or humanities at least) you could pick the area least related to possible future majors and ease off on it. Generally, though, 4 hours of homework, at least several nights per week, isn’t uncommon.
I usually do worksheets at school, during break, lunch, or other down times. The 10 Minute Rule is a recommendation designed to protect students’ mental and physical health. Obviously, it’s not being implemented everywhere. However, the fact that you are spending 3x more time on homework than is recommended for someone your age should be a red flag. You’re a kid. You shouldn’t be spending all your free time studying. I’m not trying to be rude, I’m just concerned for your continued health.
First and foremost, immediately work on your assignments after you return from school or ECs every day. To be honest, your schedule should definitely be manageable if you do not have time-consuming ECs. Depending on how much homework your instructors give is how much you should study for the class. AP Econ should be an easy enough AP that as long as you don’t snooze off in class (like i did, i got a 4 :(, don’t sleep in class) you should be able to score a 5. Study only when you feel like you don’t understand your homework and if there is a test in the coming week. Also, if you do not understand the material on an upcoming test, STUDY BEFOREHAND. You can afford to glance the notes if the class is easy and you don’t have a crappy teacher.
Math is a subject that you get good at with constant repetition, if you’re struggling, do your math homework but constantly review what you did previously each night to keep the memory fresh. Also, the more you practice, the better you get at it.
If you’re having trouble with Chemistry, I suggest NMSI for practice and study materials.
All in all you seem to be doing pretty well and it is good that you are concerned about grades, I can’t give much other advice but good luck!!