<p>For some reason, I spend 5-6 hours studying for my APUSH test and only get an 84! I was really ****ed because i was up until 1 am studying and covered pretty much everything. Same goes for my ap bio test, for which I studied a good 6 hours or so over a period of days including a 2 hour study group, and only got an 81! I am really starting to get depressed and I do not know where I am going wrong. Can someone please help me out.</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>We bribe the teachers.......</p>
<p>You said you were up to 1 am studying. It's not good to cram the night b4 as I'm sure many people have told you. Try to spread your studying over a period of time. Once the teacher announces the test start reading through your notes and studying. I recommend <a href="http://www.historyteacher.net%5B/url%5D">www.historyteacher.net</a> for APUS. It has good practice tests and questions which will probably appear on your tests.</p>
<p>your school probably doesn't have grade inflation
on AP's your supposed to get in the 80's </p>
<p>I would recommend studying more in the few days before the test and then make sure to get enough sleep the day before.</p>
<p>I always crammed for these two classes last year, and it worked wonders for me. But then again, I like to work under pressure and am prone to procrastination. </p>
<p>But the best thing is to pay really close attention in class. For history, if you guys discuss stuff with the teacher, have your book out and follow along. If a question is posed, find it and try to answer, even if you haven't read the material the night before.</p>
<p>I second the above posts, staying up until 1 am is not a good idea, its better to go to bed early and then study in the morning. Just think cause and effect and how everything relates to each other.</p>
<p>Or maybe it's grade DEFLATION, rather than not having inflation....</p>
<p>It really depends on your teacher, the type of test, and what he/she tests, grading scale, etc.</p>
<p>I can easily explain your conundrum: 6 hours of studying one night per week, the day before a test, is nothing for an intense AP class. </p>
<p>When I did APUSH, I spent 2 hours a night, every night, for a week, including weekends. And that was test, or no test.</p>
<p>That's a total of 14 hours, every week. not counting the 50 minute class periods in which I always paid full attention. That's another 4 hours. So call it 18 hours a week that I studied for APUSH. </p>
<p>You're studying for 1/3 of that. No wonder you're having problems.</p>
<p>If you don't want to commit yourself to doing what needs to be done, here's a tip: don't take the course.</p>
<p>2 hours a night for ONE class? I got a 4 on the AP test studying a half hour tops for each test, nothing in between, and spent the day before studying from review books. Not worth all that work for the same credit (4 and 5 are often the same) at colleges, IMO.</p>
<p>thecalccobra, how did other kids in your class do? It might be more helpful to compare grades and study methods with those taking the same class, since every school is different. If there's no one in your class you want to ask, ask your teacher for the class average on the test. It might have just been a really difficult test, or you could just need to find more time to study daily rather than all one night.</p>
<p>Andre: not many people have the commitment to study that much, just for one class, every night. I certainly didn't. If I had a test, I either studied the morning of it, or not at all. If you can stay awake in class, that's really all you need.</p>
<p>obsessedAndre- Yeah I get what you are trying to say and I completely agree with you on that. However, if you spent 2 hours a day for APUSH, then what about the other AP classes that you were taking? Did you also spend 1-2 hour for 2-3 other classes?</p>
<p>grade inflation. mid 70s to mid 80s on tests => 98 every marking peroid.</p>
<p>For my S, AP US History was a breeze because he's been reading the newspaper & all magazines & internet news daily since he was in 2nd grade, for "fun." He's very current on the world situation & current events, as well as their historical context. His classmates who had not been prepping for 7-8 years struggled to catch up, and it was/is a struggle.
I agree that regular studying & prep beats out cramming all the time. My D who crams & procastinates is having a much rougher time of junior year & regular US history than S did with AP US.</p>
<p>The original poster isn't studying correctly or efficiently if he's putting in that much time and still sucking on the test.</p>
<p>It isn't so simple an issue as "oh you're not studying enough"</p>
<p>Perhaps it's more of an issue of "You're not studying when and what you need to study."</p>
<p>Really, staying up till 1 am studying is horrible, don't do that.</p>
<p>I don't want to sound like a smartass, but I never study for AP US History. Never. Ever. All I do is read over the chapter(s) we're going to take a test on once over some 1-2 weeks ahead of the test, take my notes, and never look at it again. Come the test, I've been getting the highest scores in all 3 of my APUSH's teacher's classes. Hell, I got the first A of the year earlier this week, 2nd place dude got a B-, I got a 95%. w00t. Heh.</p>
<p>But really, just focus on what you need to know, and have better study habits.</p>
<p>I'd suggest you set up a meeting with your instructor & go over how you can improve in future tests & assignments. Some teachers focus more on concepts while others stress details (maps, dates, names, etc.) It's good to know where your teacher focuses so you can be more in synch.</p>
<p>Yeah, I agree with what he (^^^^^^) said. Teachers aren't there just to take up space and let you fail the AP test and their class, especially if you're obviously wishing to improve your grade.</p>
<p>You think HImom is a he? ..</p>
<p>...I dunno, I'm not a regular here. If he's actually a she then I'll edit it then I guess...</p>
<p>EDIT: Oh wait it doesn't let me edit it anymore, dang</p>