high school homework study tips

25 Study Skills for High School Students: Mastering Each Skill

High school is a crucial period in a student’s academic journey, filled with opportunities and challenges. It’s a time when students start to gain more independence and responsibility for their own learning. To thrive in high school and beyond, one essential skill to develop is effective study skills. In this blog post, we will explore why study skills for high school students are so important and provide a comprehensive guide to mastering them.

Why Study Skills Matter in High School

Table of Contents

Academic Challenges in High School

High school presents a unique set of academic challenges. The coursework becomes more complex, the pace quickens, and students must juggle multiple subjects and extracurricular activities.

Additionally, high-stakes exams like the SAT or ACT and college admissions become prominent concerns. To navigate these challenges, students need strong study skills.

The Role of Study Skills in Success

Study skills are the foundation of academic success. They enable students to become more efficient, focused, and organized in their learning. Effective study skills for high school students not only help to absorb information but also retain it and apply it effectively. They are the tools that turn hard work into smart work.

Benefits of Developing Good Study Skills

Developing good study skills has numerous benefits. It can lead to higher grades, reduced stress, improved time management, and increased self-confidence.

These skills are not just relevant in high school; they are transferable and will serve students well in college and their future careers. As such, investing time and effort into developing effective study skills is an investment in a successful future.

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25 Study Skills for High School Students

Effective Time Management: Create a schedule to balance classes, homework, and extracurricular activities.
Organizational Skills: Use planners or apps to keep track of assignments, deadlines, and important dates.
Active Listening: Pay attention during lectures to grasp key concepts and take meaningful notes.
Note-Taking Techniques: Develop shorthand and organizational methods to jot down lecture highlights.
Critical Reading: Analyze texts, identifying main ideas, supporting details, and underlying themes.
Mind Mapping: Use visual tools to organize ideas and create connections between different concepts.
Prioritization: Focus on tasks that are due sooner while managing long-term projects effectively.
Goal Setting: Set specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals for academic tasks.
Stress Management: Practice relaxation techniques like deep breathing or meditation to alleviate stress.
Healthy Study Environment: Create a quiet, well-lit, and organized space conducive to focused studying.
Digital Literacy: Utilize online resources and educational platforms for research and learning.
Collaborative Learning: Form study groups to discuss topics, solve problems, and reinforce understanding.
Effective Communication: Engage with teachers and classmates, asking questions when concepts are unclear.
Self-Discipline: Avoid procrastination by breaking tasks into manageable chunks and adhering to deadlines.
Test-Taking Strategies: Learn techniques like process of elimination and time management during exams.
Self-Assessment: Regularly evaluate strengths and weaknesses to adapt study methods accordingly.
Healthy Lifestyle: Maintain a balanced diet, exercise regularly, and get adequate sleep for optimal brain function.
Utilize Resources: Make use of library resources, academic databases, and online tutorials for research.
Creative Study Techniques: Use mnemonic devices, flashcards, and storytelling to enhance memory retention.
Effective Internet Research: Evaluate online sources for credibility, relevance, and accuracy in research assignments.
Feedback Incorporation: Learn from feedback on assignments and exams to improve future performance.
Time Blocking: Allocate specific time blocks for different subjects, activities, and breaks in the study routine.
Positive Mindset: Cultivate a positive attitude, embracing challenges as opportunities to learn and grow.
Adaptability: Be open to changing study strategies if current methods aren’t yielding desired results.
Continuous Learning: Stay curious, explore diverse subjects, and cultivate a lifelong love for learning.

How to Refine Your Study Skills?

Refining your study skills is a continuous process that involves self-assessment, adaptation, and the implementation of effective strategies. Here are steps to help you refine your study skills:

Self-Assessment:

Reflect on your current study habits and their effectiveness.
Identify areas where you struggle or need improvement, such as time management, note-taking, or test preparation.

Set Clear Goals:

Define your academic goals and objectives for each study session.
Knowing what you want to achieve will help you stay focused and motivated.

Time Management:

Create a study schedule that fits your daily routine.
Allocate dedicated time for each subject and task, allowing for breaks and leisure activities.

Organization:

Use planners, calendars, or digital tools to keep track of assignments and deadlines.
Organize your study materials and workspace for maximum efficiency.

Note-Taking Techniques:

Develop a note-taking system that works for you, whether it’s Cornell notes, mind maps, or outlines.
Focus on capturing essential concepts and main ideas during lectures.

Active Reading:

Approach reading assignments critically, looking for main ideas, supporting details, and connections.
Annotate texts and highlight key points to aid comprehension and future review.

Effective Study Strategies:

Experiment with various study techniques, such as flashcards, practice tests, and group discussions.
Identify which methods yield the best results and incorporate them into your routine.

Test Preparation:

Learn test-taking strategies, including time management, question analysis, and the process of elimination.
Regularly review and quiz yourself to assess your knowledge.

Stay Informed:

Keep up with your coursework, attending classes, and actively participating.
Seek clarification from teachers or peers when you encounter difficulties.

Healthy Lifestyle:

Maintain a balanced diet, engage in regular physical activity, and get sufficient sleep.
Physical well-being is closely linked to cognitive performance.

Resources: Study Skills for High School Students

Recommended books and websites.

“How to Study in High School”
Study guides and resources on websites like JavaAssignmentHelp, CodeAvail, and CallTutors

Study Apps and Tools

Notability for note-taking
Anki for flashcards
Forest to block distractions

School-Based Resources

School libraries and librarians
Academic support services and tutoring programs

Real-Life Success Stories

To inspire high school students, share stories of individuals who improved their study skills and achieved remarkable academic success. Highlight the journey, challenges faced, and the strategies that led to their triumphs.

In conclusion, mastering study skills for high school students is not just a valuable asset; it’s a critical tool for high school students striving for academic excellence and personal growth.

Effective study skills can help students navigate the challenges of high school, set a strong foundation for college and career success, and equip them with skills that will serve them for a lifetime.

By implementing the study skills and strategies outlined in this guide, high school students can unlock their full potential and take control of their academic journey.

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10 Homework Tips for High School Students

by Daniel Friedman
6 minute read

Having trouble getting focused with homework? Here are 10 simple homework tips for high school students to make life much easier!

Hopefully after reading this, you’ll find a more enjoyable way to do homework while also being focused and efficient.

Let’s get started…

Prioritize Your Classes

Write down your homework everyday at school as it’s being assigned in some sort of agenda, planner, or notebook.

At the end of every day, list your homework assignments in order of how you’re going to do them. I recommend starting with the harder assignments first and finishing off with the easier ones.

Be sure to keep in mind what homework will need more time than others. If you have a project, essay, or long studying to do, start with that first.

This is going to give you the basics of how to organize your homework after school and what to prioritize.

Blue Pen, White Paper

Writing with a blue pen on white paper is the easiest way to remember your writing. It is scientifically proven to help retain information more efficiently than any other writing combo.

This is literally hacking your brain to memorize things easier. It is one of the best homework tips for high school students to use.

Try using this trick during your actual classes in school. That way when you study, you’ll already have your notes written in the best format.

Using other memory tools such as bullets, numbers, drawings, and highlights are also efficient ways to make studying a breeze.

Get Rid of Distractions

This one is obvious, but crucial!

Clear your desk, turn off your phone, avoid social media on your computer, and even clean your room.

A decluttered environment is a decluttered head. You will be able to focus much harder on the task at hand when there aren’t a bunch of distractions in your face.

You should also allow as much light to enter your room as possible. Open blinds, turn on lamps, and turn up your computer’s brightness (if you do homework on it).

More light in a workspace is proven to improve focus and efficiency.

Start Right When You Get Home

Getting in the habit of starting your homework right when you get home as a high school student is going to save you a lot of procrastination.

When you get home, eat something and then prepare yourself homework. Getting it done early will also give you unlimited free time until you go to sleep.

Taking your break first and then doing homework can cause anxiety from the fact that you don’t know how much time you have left to complete your assignments.

Do yourself a favor and avoid that anxiety. It feels much more rewarding to finish your homework and have the rest of your day to do whatever you want.

Do Homework with Friends

When you get home, hop on a FaceTime, Skype, or Zoom call and do homework with friends.

This will benefit you in 2 main ways. One, you can share answers, insight, and make the work go by faster. Second, it’s simply way more fun!

You can essentially split the workload depending on the type of homework. You’ll also learn from each other, create closer bonds, and quiz each other for upcoming tests.

There are clearly many benefits to working in a group that most high school students miss out on. Even 1 friend can save you a ton of time and effort.

Work on a Full Stomach

Starting homework on a full stomach eliminates the need to get up from necessity.

Our brain naturally starts to focus on our hunger, thirst, or going to the bathroom if it exceeds the need of the task you’re currently doing.

When you’re doing homework, take breaks, but take them voluntarily. You won’t be able to focus one bit if your mind is on other things.

Get home, eat a nice meal, drink water, go to the bathroom, and start doing your homework. A full stomach from a good meal will also help your brain work better.

You’ve probably been told to eat a good breakfast before a test day to be “smarter”. The same thing applies to doing your homework.

Pro tip: Dark chocolate is proven to regain your focus on the task at hand. If you start getting distracted easily for no reason… have a treat.

Daniel Friedman

Hey, I'm Daniel - The owner of Modern Teen! I love sharing everything I've experienced and learned through my teen and college years. I designed this blog to build a community of young adults from all around the world so we can grow together and share our knowledge! Enjoy and Welcome!

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How to help teens develop good study habits

By Amanda Morin

Expert reviewed by Jenn Osen-Foss, MAT

Good study habits don’t always come easily or naturally. Most teens need to be taught how to develop them. And that can be hard when you’re not sure how much (or how little) to supervise or be involved with homework .

Learning effective study strategies can reduce your child’s stress about school and improve grades. And it may even help both of you avoid battles over homework . Here are two useful strategies to share with kids, based on suggestions in Academic Success Strategies for Adolescents with Learning Disabilities and ADHD (©2003 Brookes Publishing Co.).

Over “C” tests and assignments.

Studying isn’t just a matter of sitting down to review notes. It also involves knowing what you need to study when and keeping track of assignments and tests.

Many middle school and high school teachers use an online grading program. Many will list daily assignments and due dates, as well as grades. Kids can use this to plan their studying, using the following steps.

Create a calendar. Show kids how to use a large wall calendar and a set of markers to keep track of all the assignments. They can assign each class a different colored marker and write all of their assignments, activities, and appointments on the calendar. Or they can use an online calendar — and sync it with multiple devices, including their smartphone and laptop.

Create a weekly planner. Kids can break down information on the calendar to make a study plan for each week. Show them how to transfer obligations for each week from the big calendar to a weekly planner, making sure to include time to work on each assignment a few days before it’s due. Or have them print out a weekly list from their online calendar.

Create a daily checklist. It may seem like overkill, but breaking down the weekly plan into a daily checklist can also be very helpful. This to-do list helps kids keep track of their day and see how much progress they’re making. It’s a good idea for kids to list each day’s tasks in the order they should do them and to write down the specific time of each class or appointment.

“CHECK” in to studying.

Once teens have a handle on what to study, the next step is learning how to study . This can be broken into a CHECK list — with each letter in “check” standing for a step in the process of getting ready.

Consider location. Does your teen study better at school, at the library, or at home? Some teens work better away from distractions. Others like to have someone nearby in case they need help. Whatever kids choose, when it’s homework time, that’s the environment they should study in .

Have all materials on hand. It can be very distracting to have to look for a pencil or a calculator in the middle of studying. Help kids find a place where they can store all their homework materials so they’re ready to go.

Establish rewards. At first, you may need to help kids set up a reward system. For example, for every chapter they read, you might let them use the computer for 10 minutes. Eventually, though, they’ll learn to reward themselves, even if it’s just by having a snack between English and algebra homework.

Create a study checklist. This includes all the steps kids need to take to get ready to do homework and what they need to study that day. Having everything listed out can make it easier for them to get started and prioritize their time. It may also make their homework load seem less overwhelming.

Keep a worry pad. A worry pad is a tool for teens who are easily distracted by their own thoughts. Instead of trying to deal with all the distracting things that keep popping into their head, they can write them down on the pad. When they’re done studying, then they can deal with the things that distracted them.

Good study habits take time to develop. Discover what one set of parents wished they’d done sooner to support their daughter . Read a college student’s tips for studying when you have ADHD . If you’re considering hiring a tutor, get answers to common questions about tutoring .

If your teen struggles with organization and time management, you may also want to try:

A printable cell phone contract

Color-coding

Tips to help high-schoolers slow down on homework

Key takeaways

Knowing what to study, organizing time and materials, and managing distractions are important homework skills.

If teens get distracted when studying, they can write their thoughts on a pad and return to them later.

If your child is having trouble developing good study skills, you may want to consult an academic coach.

Grades 6-12
School Leaders

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Ultimate Study Skills Guide: Tips, Tricks, and Strategies for Every Grade

Because they really do need to learn how to learn.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that study skills are life skills. Taking good notes, creating a focused workspace, managing distractions, making plans—any and all of these are skills people of all ages use every single day. Taking time to teach good study skills up front can equip students to succeed in school and beyond.

We’ve broken down many of the top study skills students need, including examples by grade level. Remember that there are a lot of different ways to study successfully. Offer students options and help them find the strategies that work best for them.

Study Spaces

Organization and time management study skills, learning styles, taking and using notes, effective reading study skills, completing assignments, test taking, finding help.

Choosing the right place to study is the first step to good study skills. Teach students to consider these elements.

Choose Your Space

For some students, this means a dedicated study space like a desk in their room. Others may prefer to curl up in a chair with a lap desk or work at a table in a common space. Whichever they choose, it should be an area that’s dedicated to study while they’re using it.

Homework desk in child's bedroom with supplies they can use to build study skills

Source: organizeandarrangeit/Instagram

Elementary School: Many students begin doing homework on the dining room or kitchen table, where parents can supervise. As students get older, encourage them to explore other spaces too, especially those where they can work independently.
Middle School: By this age, kids will probably need a dedicated study space of their own, where they can keep supplies and works-in-progress. If that’s not possible, create a bin or box where they can store stuff while they’re not using it, then pull it out when it’s time to study.
High School: Older students should be able to carve out a study space pretty much anywhere, since that’s something they’ll need to be able to do in the working world too. As long as they’re able to concentrate and get their work done, don’t be too picky about where they choose to do it.

Make Yourself Comfortable

“Comfortable” looks different for every person, so don’t assume all kids need to be sitting at a desk to work well. At the same time, they shouldn’t be so comfortable that they’ll fall asleep!

Elementary School: When kids are doing independent reading, let them choose any spot they like. For other work, make sure they have a sturdy writing surface, like a table or lap desk. Ensure they have enough light to see what they’re doing, and teach them good posture if they’re sitting in a chair so they don’t develop stiff muscles.
Middle and High School: Show them how to adjust the font size on screens so they’re not squinting to read. Encourage them to use blue light filters if they’re spending a lot of time on computers.

Manage Distractions

Learning to concentrate while ignoring distractions is a key life skill, and one that we all need to develop. Some students will have no trouble tuning things out, while others are going to need a lot of help with this one.

Elementary School: Kids at this age are very easily distracted, so their study space should be as calm as possible. If a quiet room isn’t available, they might need noise-canceling headphones or even a white-noise machine to help them concentrate. Muting the TV isn’t enough—be sure it’s off completely. Remind friends and siblings to leave kids alone while they’re working.
Middle School: These kids are old enough to recognize distractions but might still have trouble handling them. Encourage them to turn off phones and electronics (although some students are fine listening to music while they work). Students at this age are old enough to politely ask friends or family not to interrupt them while they work.
High School: By this time, students know that the world is full of distractions and you can’t quiet them all. But you can teach them to mute their phone and messaging notifications, close all unnecessary windows on their laptops, and be firm about letting others know they need to be left alone to study.

Gather Your Supplies

One way to eliminate distractions is to ensure you have everything you need in place before you start. This includes books, notes, office supplies, and more. All kids should have water and some healthy snacks on hand too.

Source: jugglingactmama/Instagram

Elementary School: Having a dedicated, well-stocked study space makes it much easier for kids to settle down to their work. Keep a supply of sharpened pencils, glue sticks, scissors, markers, and other items in a nearby drawer or a bin they can grab when they’re ready to get started.
Middle School: Students this age likely keep just about everything they need in their backpacks, so they’ll want it nearby when they study. Remind them to restock their supplies once a week (including sharpening pencils in advance).
High School: Depending on the assignment, these students may not need a lot of physical supplies, but they should still gather any books, notes, laptops, pens and highlighters, etc., they need before they settle in for a study session.

Organization and time management study skills.

These two study skills are also vital life skills, so the sooner kids learn them, the better. They’ll be grateful later in life!

Use a Homework Planner

As soon as kids starting having any kind of homework, they need a planner. For younger students, this could be a daily take-home folder, while older kids will need a more sophisticated system. Either way, use it consistently so it becomes a habit.

Elementary School: Take-home folders are perfect for organizing worksheets and other assignments. Put unfinished work on the left and finished work on the right. Use sticky notes on the worksheets or the front of the folder to write reminders about what needs to be done, including any due dates. Parents of younger students can review these folders each day, while upper elementary kids should mostly be able to keep track of things on their own.

Green homework folder with cutout hand that says Left at Home and Right Back to School

Source: Busy Classroom

Middle School: Use a planner notebook that includes calendars to help keep track of long-term assignments, with pages for daily notes and to-do lists. Teach students to make notes in them during class or immediately after, and start every study session by reviewing any current assignments and their due dates.

Example of a weekly middle school planner filled out by a student to build their study skills

Source: Starts at Eight

High School: Kids can continue using paper planners, or transition to online calendars or apps. Show them how to set useful reminders online, so things don’t slip through the cracks.

Example of high school planner filled out on a wooden table with pen and sticky notes

Source: LP Tutoring

Create a Daily Study Plan

When kids sit down to tackle the day’s work, encourage them to begin by making a plan. Assess what needs to be done, estimate the amount of time it will take, and decide what to do first.

Source: Beyond Booksmart

Elementary School: Parents and young kids should sit down together to look over the day’s assignments and talk about what to work on first. Some students might like to get easy tasks out of the way before settling in to harder ones, while others prefer to handle more difficult things first. Help them find the method that works best for them.
Middle School and High School: This age brings a higher amount of homework, so students should always start by determining how much time they’ll need to complete it. Let them experiment a bit—do they work best by completely finishing one assignment before moving on to the next, or do they like to do a little bit of each and take some breaks in between? Over time, they’ll find the methods they like best.

Chose the Best Study Time

Kids’ days are often jam-packed with activities, leaving homework and studying to get squeezed in whenever it fits. Take time to find out what time of day kids are at their best, and prioritize that time for study. For instance, if a student seems to learn better if they do their homework right after school, try to choose extracurriculars that meet in the evenings or weekends instead. Some students might even prefer to get up early in the morning and work, and that’s OK too as long as they’re getting enough sleep.

Elementary School: Let kids try doing their homework at different times throughout the day, and see if there are times when they’re better at concentrating. If so, teach them to schedule their schoolwork during those times, and make extracurricular choices for them accordingly.
Middle and High School: Students probably know by now when they work best, but busy schedules can make that more difficult to accommodate. Remind them to try to make smart choices and to tackle schoolwork when they’re feeling as fresh and alert as possible.

Keep Materials Neat and Organized

Some adults thrive in messy work spaces, and that’s OK. But kids should make an effort to keep their spaces and materials organized so they have fewer excuses for not getting things done.

Teen boy practicing study skills on computer at his organized desk.

Source: mywallpro/Instagram

Elementary School: In early grades, parents should help kids go through their backpack each night, cleaning out trash and restocking supplies. Help them set up an organization system using the different pockets. Show them how to use different-color folders and notebooks for each subject, and clean out every folder regularly. Set the backpack by the front door each night so it’s ready to go in the morning. Upper grade students should gradually do some or all of these things on their own.
Middle School: Transition to entirely managing backpacks and study spaces on their own. Parents might check in once a week or at the beginning of a school quarter to see if students need some assistance getting organized.
High School: In addition to managing their physical study materials, ensure kids at this age know how to keep things organized online. Show them how to use files and folders, where to back things up, and how to manage their email and message inboxes. Encourage them to set aside a regular time to make sure everything is in order, and make improvements as needed.

Take Breaks

Students need both physical and mental brain breaks while they study! Remind kids to get up and move around regularly, rest their eyes, and give their brain a break for a few minutes every so often.

Elementary School: Younger students should be able to work for about 15-20 minutes before taking a break, with upper grades going as long as 30 minutes. They usually won’t need reminders to take breaks, but they might need some help keeping those breaks to no more than 10 minutes or so.
Middle School: These kids can work 30-45 minutes at a time and should learn to recognize the signs of needing a break on their own. When they start to get very fidgety, feel a headache coming on, squint while they’re reading, or feel hungry or thirsty, it’s time for a short break. Teach them to set a timer to know when the break is over and they need to get back to work.
High School: By now, students can work an hour at a time but should be encouraged to take regular breaks all the same. In fact, just like adults, they should aim to get up and move for at least 5 minutes every hour. Physical activity like stretching, yoga, or even dancing to music will help refresh them so they can get back down to it. If they have trouble remembering to take breaks, have them set a timer to remind them.

All students use different learning methods to retain and understand the same information. Some like written words, some prefer to hear it and talk about it. Others need to do something with their hands or see images and diagrams. These are known as learning styles. While it’s important not to pigeonhole students into any one style, kids should be aware of any strengths they have and use them to create strong study skills.

Visual-See It Auditory-Hear/Say It Read/Write-It Kinesthetic-Do It (Learning Styles)

Source: Nnenna Walters

Know Your Style

There are four generally accepted styles: visual, auditory, read/write, and kinesthetic (movement). You can learn more about them here. It’s worth taking time to understand which (if any) style appeals to a student more.

Elementary School: Most kids are exposed to a wide array of learning activities, strategies, and methods here and will slowly form preferences. If parents or teachers notice that kids aren’t learning well using one method (e.g., flash cards to learn math facts), have students try activities from different styles instead (like videos or songs).
Middle School: At this age, students should have some idea of which study methods fit their learning styles. They should continue to experiment, especially in subjects where they struggle to master the material.
High School: Kids in these grades who still don’t understand how they learn best may benefit from taking the VARK questionnaire . It will point them in the right direction and help them find the best study methods.

Choose Appropriate Study Materials

Here are some examples of study materials and activities that appeal to different learning styles, no matter the age or grade level.

Source: Elementary Shenanigans

Visual: Diagrams; charts; graphs; maps; videos with or without sound; photos and other images; graphic organizers and sketchnotes
Auditory: Lectures; audiobooks; videos with sound; music and songs; text-to-speech translation; discussion and debate; teaching others
Read/Write: Reading textbooks, articles, and handouts; watching video with subtitles turned on; using speech-to-text translation and transcripts; making lists; writing answers to questions
Kinesthetic: Hands-on practice; educational craft projects; experiments and demonstrations; trial and error; moving and playing games while learning

Study after study have shown the importance of actively taking notes rather than passively reading a handout later on. The act of writing engages different parts of the brain, forging new pathways that help students retain information in long-term memory. Taking good notes and using them properly are study skills every student needs to master.

Learn Different Note-Taking Strategies

There are a variety of good strategies, like outlines, the Cornell Method, sketchnotes, and more. There’s no one best method; it often depends on the material and the learner.

Page demonstrating the Cornell method of note taking (Note Taking Strategies)

Source: Think Insights

Elementary School: Actively teach kids how to take notes in a variety of styles. Learn about seven top note-taking strategies here , and share them with your students. Teachers can start with handouts and graphic organizers but should slowly transition to more independent methods.
Middle School: Students should be mastering the skill of taking their own notes, choosing a style that works best for them. They may need reminders of key points to capture but should now be able to isolate the important info.
High School: Note-taking should be automatic by now, and many students will have developed preferred styles. Teachers should not insist on a specific note-taking strategy, but should ensure kids are capturing the information they need.

Organize and Review

Taking notes is just one part of the process. Students with good study skills also know how to use them effectively.

Example of how to use colored tabs or flags to organize notes and build study skills.

Source: The Mad Scientist

Elementary School: Help students keep all notes from one subject or project in one notebook or folder. Show them how to place them in an order that makes sense, and use tabs, tables of contents, or other organizational methods. Encourage them to review each day’s notes when they go home at night, to reinforce the learning.
Middle School: Students in these grades might want to reorganize their notes on their own when they get home, re-copying them or even typing them into a computer. They should be able to use effective organization strategies, to find the notes they need later on during a study session.
High School: Students should plan to spend time after every class going over that day’s notes, reviewing and reinforcing what they learned. They should be able to rely heavily on their own notes when reviewing for a test or completing a project.

“Read chapter three for homework tonight.” Sounds simple enough, right? But there’s a big difference between skimming the material and actually learning from it. Here are the study skills students need to learn while they read.

Highlighting

Everybody loves a handful of colorful highlighters, but using them effectively is a study skill all on its own. Kids can highlight both texts and their own notes.

Notebook page highlighted in yellow and green

Source: cozmic_mae/Instagram

Elementary School: Read material with students, showing them how to highlight key words and phrases instead of whole blocks of text. Show them color-coding strategies for organizing the information. Give them practice passages specifically for learning these skills.
Middle School: Introduce students to online highlighting tools, since many of the texts they’ll be reading are digital. If necessary, they can print out reading material to highlight physically instead.
High School: Kids should be pretty expert at highlighting by now, but watch for students who are still highlighting whole blocks without really knowing why, and show them the fundamentals.

Rereading and Taking Notes

In a lot of cases, reading something once simply isn’t enough. All students should learn to reread materials, using that time to highlight and take notes.

Sample pages in student notebook with notes about volcanos to use to develop study skills

Source: SERC

Elementary School: Reread passages together, pointing out key words, phrases, and ideas. Make notes while reading, both in the text and on separate paper. Try to complete review questions without referring to the text.
Middle School: Students will know they’ve read thoroughly when they can complete review questions without looking back. Show students how to write their own review questions as they study (the Cornell Method of Note-Taking is perfect for this) so they’ll know they truly understand the material.
High School: Continue to reinforce good reading study skills by giving students review questions to complete or asking them to make an outline or sketchnotes to sum up what they’ve learned.

Kids need to learn how to thoroughly complete an assignment, whether it’s a worksheet, an essay, or a term-long research project. These are the study skills they should know.

Understand the Assignment

Having a clear understanding of what’s being asked is so important. Otherwise, kids might wind up doing the wrong work, then having to tackle it all over again.

Elementary School: Show kids how to carefully read directions at the beginning. Have them repeat back what they’re expected to do, and make notes if they need reminders. Teachers should provide instructions in writing whenever possible and make them clear and simple.
Middle School: Encourage students to ask questions about assignments up front, or throughout if necessary. Continue to ensure they fully understand the directions before they start, especially when there are multiple steps.
High School: By now, students should be able to make their own notes about expectations and can handle a series of more complicated steps. They should make a habit of reviewing all that information before they begin work.

Make a Plan

Once they know the expectations, students should plan how they’ll do the work.

Elementary School: Help students evaluate the assignment and decide which parts they’ll do first. This is also a good time to estimate how long the work will take.
Middle School: Encourage kids to think about how they like to approach assignments. Do they like doing easy problems first, then circling back around to harder stuff? Do they sometimes get stuck and frustrated? If so, how can they get “unstuck” and continue to make progress?
High School: Many high school assignments are more complex, and students will need to lay out the steps to take. For instance, a research project might require choosing a topic, getting approval, starting research, planning a presentation, and giving the presentation, with multiple sub-steps in each. This all feels more manageable when you have a plan in place first.

Save Your Work

Such a basic study skill, and so extremely important!

Elementary School: Help students ensure all assignments go back into the appropriate folders and all folders make it into their backpack when they’re done. Don’t leave things lying around where they can get lost.
Middle and High School: In addition to keeping physical papers in order, be sure kids know how to save files online, including backing up their work. Many programs save automatically, but that’s not always the case. Show them how to keep backed-up files on an external drive or in the cloud, in case their hardware fails.

Review and Revise

Finishing the last problem on the page or typing the final word on a paper doesn’t mean you’re done. Good study skills means going back to review your work and make revisions.

English essay with revisions in colored pen made by student.

Source: EnglishWritingTeacher.com

Elementary School: Parents and younger kids should go back over completed homework together to make sure it’s complete and correct. Perform math problems “backwards” to see if the answers make sense. As kids get older, parents should remind them to review and check their answers on their own.
Middle School: Students should regularly remember to check their answers before turning in an assignment. Advise them to make sure they’ve done everything they’ve been asked to, to the best of their ability.
High School: Reviewing and revising should be automatic now. Writing assignments should include plans for multiple revisions. Teach students to use spell-check and grammar-check programs as needed, and encourage them to read their writing out loud to hear how it sounds.

Some kids naturally do well on tests, but others freeze up and forget everything they’ve learned . Fortunately, test-taking study skills are something kids can learn over time.

Test taking skills anchor chart to build study skills.

Source: Tammy DeShaw/The Owl Teacher

Review the Material

Kids should develop a variety of strategies for reviewing for a test, including review questions, flash cards, discussions, looking over notes, and more. It’s also important to follow a regular study schedule on any subject, instead of leaving all the review to the last minute.

Elementary School: Whenever possible, adults should work with kids to help them study. Make flash cards, talk over the material together, sing spelling word songs—model good study skills for them to help them learn.
Middle School: Help students continue to use a variety of review strategies. Teachers can provide review questions, set up study groups, and create online materials for them to use, just to name a few.
High School: Kids should be coordinating their own review by now, whether independently or in groups. Make sure they know how to contact you if they have questions while they’re studying.

Get Rest and Eat Well

At any age, feeling your best is key to acing a test. Discourage students from staying up late to cram, and see that they have healthy meals and snacks on the day of the test. If they’re allowed, be sure they have bottled water on hand to stay hydrated before and during the test itself.

Tackle Easy Questions First

This one is especially important for students who have difficulty managing their time, or those who get incredibly nervous about tests. Focus on showing what you know, and build confidence as you go along.

Elementary School: Teach kids to look over the entire test first so they can see what they’ll be expected to do. Tell them to ask questions right away if they have any. On the second run-through, they should answer any questions or problems they’re certain about. Finally, they can go back and handle more challenging questions, one at a time. In younger grades, practice this skill by using guided test-taking sessions.
Middle School: Before a test, remind students of the process. Have them look the whole thing over first, and ask if anyone has any general questions before they begin. Monitor kids as they complete the test, and nudge along any who seem stuck on one particular question or section.
High School: By now, kids should have the process down pat, but teachers should be aware of nervous test-takers and quietly remind them to focus on what they know.

Watch the Time

It’s a simple skill but a valuable one. Get kids used to glancing at the clock, but not obsessing over how much time is left.

Elementary School: Tell kids how much time they have up front. Offer reminders several times, especially toward the end, but don’t do it in a way that amps up anxiety.
Middle School: Make time expectations clear up front, and remind students once or twice of the remaining time as they work. Students should be glancing at the clock occasionally as they work; at the end of every page or section is a good rule of thumb. If they feel like they’re running out of time, remind them to use the “easy questions first” strategy.
High School: Older students should be able to look over a test and compare it to the amount of time they have, so they know they’re working at the right pace. Teachers can offer a reminder halfway through and five minutes before the end.

Review Before Submitting

Just like with assignments, students should try to make time to review test answers before they turn it in. (And to make sure they put their names on their paper!)

Elementary School: Actively ask students who are turning in their papers to go back to their seats and review their answers first. Build in a little extra test time so every student has a chance to review their work.
Middle School: Remind students to review their work before submitting it when you pass out the tests. Offer additional reminders to those who regularly turn in work that needed another look.
High School: Students should remember to build in time to look things over at the end as they start taking the test. The five-minute reminder toward the end is their cue to look over what they’ve done.

Even when you have terrific study skills, sometimes you need some assistance. Asking for help when you need it is something everyone needs to be able to do. While kids can’t expect adults to walk them through every step of the process, they should feel free to reach out for guidance when they need it.

Know How and When To Contact Teachers

Help students keep contact information handy and know the appropriate ways to contact their teachers as needed.

Teacher contact cards on desk with name, email, phone, etc.

Source: StudentSavvy/Teachers Pay Teachers

Elementary School: Most outside-school communication is between parents and teachers at this point, but kids should be encouraged to ask their own questions during the school day whenever possible. As they get older, parents should do their best to let kids take the lead.
Middle School: Students should be almost entirely independent of parents when communicating with teachers now. They should know when teachers are available to chat in person (including before and after school, if possible). Adults can also show them how to write respectful emails or texts if teachers have made that contact information available.
High School: At this point, students should be nearly 100% responsible for talking to their teachers when they need to. They should keep a contact list of email addresses, phone numbers, or other info. Additionally, they should recognize and respect preferred methods of contact.

Create Study Groups

While some kids work best on their own, many others thrive working with others to keep them on track and motivated. Setting up study buddies or groups enhances everyone’s study skills.

Group of middle school students in a study group

Source: MiddleWeb

Elementary School: Parents will likely have to coordinate any in-person or online study sessions. Teachers can help by pairing students together as partners or for tutoring, and providing virtual study spaces when necessary.
Middle School: As students get older, they should learn to seek out strong study partners. Help them recognize that their best friends may not always be the best choices when it comes to studying. Encourage them to have peers over to study, or to meet in public places like libraries.
High School: Kids should be independently forming their own study support systems. However, they might ask teachers for help when they need one-on-one tutor recommendations. They may work together at school, at home, at the library, or online.

Use Resource Tools

There are more ways to learn and study than ever before. Help students find the right options to support their studies.

Elementary School: Encourage students to look up answers in the right places: What does a word mean? Check the dictionary. When did the Civil War start? Here’s how to Google that. Help younger students use the resources to ensure they’re finding the information they need.
Middle School: “Hey Google, how many moons does Jupiter have?” Kids this age know how to ask questions on the web. However, they need to learn how to make sure the answers are reliable. Teach them about primary sources (like following Wikipedia info back to its original source) and how to verify information in several different places.
High School: A huge number of resources are online these days, so be sure students know where to find them and how to use them. Provide trusted online dictionaries and encyclopedias, show them how to seek out a thesaurus or rhyming dictionary, and guide them to video sites beyond YouTube, just to name a few.

How do you teach study skills in your classroom? Come share your ideas and ask for advice in the WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook !

Plus, check out 15 life skills every teen should learn ..

We rarely teach students study skills, but they're key to success. Show kids how to set up a study space, take and use good notes, and more.

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What Are Learning Styles, and How Should Teachers Use Them?

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How to Study for a Test: 17 Expert Tips

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Do you have a big exam coming up, but you're not sure how to prepare for it? Are you looking to improve your grades or keep them strong but don't know the best way to do this? We're here to help! In this guide, we've compiled the 17 best tips for how to study for a test. No matter what grade you're in or what subject you're studying, these tips will give you ways to study faster and more effectively. If you're tired of studying for hours only to forget everything when it comes time to take a test, follow these tips so you can be well prepared for any exam you take.

How to Study for a Test: General Tips

The four tips below are useful for any test or class you're preparing for. Learn the best way to study for a test from these tips and be prepared for any future exams you take.

#1: Stick to a Study Schedule

If you're having trouble studying regularly, creating a study schedule can be a huge help. Doing something regularly helps your mind get used to it. If you set aside a time to regularly study and stick to it, it'll eventually become a habit that's (usually) easy to stick to. Getting into a fixed habit of studying will help you improve your concentration and mental stamina over time. And, just like any other training, your ability to study will improve with time and effort.

Take an honest look at your schedule (this includes schoolwork, extracurriculars, work, etc.) and decide how often you can study without making your schedule too packed. Aim for at least an hour twice a week. Next, decide when you want to study, such as Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays from 7-8pm, and stick to your schedule . In the beginning, you may need to tweak your schedule, but you'll eventually find the study rhythm that works best for you. The important thing is that you commit to it and study during the same times each week as often as possible.

#2: Start Studying Early and Study for Shorter Periods

Some people can cram for several hours the night before the test and still get a good grade. However, this is rarer than you may hope. Most people need to see information several times, over a period of time, for them to really commit it to memory. This means that, instead of doing a single long study session, break your studying into smaller sessions over a longer period of time. Five one-hour study sessions over a week will be less stressful and more effective than a single five-hour cram session. It may take a bit of time for you to learn how long and how often you need to study for a class, but once you do you'll be able to remember the information you need and reduce some of the stress that comes from schoolwork, tests, and studying.

#3: Remove Distractions

When you're studying, especially if it's for a subject you don't enjoy, it can be extremely tempting to take "quick breaks" from your work. There are untold distractions all around us that try to lure our concentration away from the task at hand. However, giving in to temptation can be an awful time suck. A quick glance at your phone can easily turn into an hour of wasting time on the internet, and that won't help you get the score you're looking for. In order to avoid distractions, remove distractions completely from your study space.

Eat a meal or a snack before you begin studying so you're not tempted to rummage through the fridge as a distraction. Silence your phone and keep it in an entirely different room. If you're studying on a computer, turn your WIFI off if it's not essential to have. Make a firm rule that you can't get up to check on whatever has you distracted until your allotted study time is up.

#4: Reward Yourself When You Hit a Milestone

To make studying a little more fun, give yourself a small reward whenever you hit a study milestone. For example, you might get to eat a piece of candy for every 25 flashcards you test yourself on, or get to spend 10 minutes on your phone for every hour you spend studying. You can also give yourself larger rewards for longer-term goals, such as going out to ice cream after a week of good study habits. Studying effectively isn't always easy, and by giving yourself rewards, you'll keep yourself motivated.

Our pets are not the only ones who deserve rewards.

Tips for Learning and Remembering Information

While the default method of studying is reading through class notes, this is actually one of the least effective ways of learning and remembering information. In this section we cover four much more useful methods. You'll notice they all involve active learning, where you're actively reworking the material, rather than just passively reading through notes. Active studying has been shown to be a much more effective way to understand and retain information, and it's what we recommend for any test you're preparing for.

#5: Rewrite the Material in Your Own Words

It can be easy to get lost in a textbook and look back over a page, only to realize you don't remember anything about what you just read. Fortunately, there's a way to avoid this.

For any class that requires lots of reading, be sure to stop periodically as you read. Pause at the end of a paragraph/page/chapter (how much you can read at once and still remember clearly will likely depend on the material you're reading) and—without looking!—think about what the text just stated. Re-summarize it in your own words, and write down bullet points if that helps. Now, glance back over the material and make sure you summarized the information accurately and included all the important details. Take note of whatever you missed, then pick up your reading where you left off.

Whether you choose to summarize the text aloud or write down notes, re-wording the text is a very effective study tool. By rephrasing the text in your own words, you're ensuring you're actually remembering the information and absorbing its meaning, rather than just moving your eyes across a page without taking in what you're reading.

#6: Make Flashcards

Flashcards are a popular study tool for good reason! They're easy to make, easy to carry around, easy to pull out for a quick study session, and they're a more effective way of studying than just reading through pages of notes. Making your own flashcards is especially effective because you'll remember more information just through the act of writing it down on the cards. For any subjects in which you must remember connections between terms and information, such as formulas, vocabulary, equations, or historical dates, flashcards are the way to go. We recommend using the Waterfall Method when you study with flashcards since it's the fastest way to learn all the material on the cards.

#7: Teach the Material to Someone Else

Teaching someone else is a great way to organize the information you've been studying and check your grasp of it. It also often shows you that you know more of the material than you think! Find a study-buddy, or a friend/relative/pet or even just a figurine or stuffed animal and explain the material to them as if they're hearing about it for the first time. Whether the person you're teaching is real or not, teaching material aloud requires you to re-frame the information in new ways and think more carefully about how all the elements fit together. The act of running through the material in this new way also helps you more easily lock it in your mind.

#8: Make Your Own Study Guides

Even if your teacher provides you with study guides, we highly recommend making your own study materials. Just making the materials will help the information sink into your mind, and when you make your own study guides, you can customize them to the way you learn best, whether that's flashcards, images, charts etc. For example, if you're studying for a biology test, you can draw your own cell and label the components, make a Krebs cycle diagram, map out a food chain, etc. If you're a visual learner (or just enjoy adding images to your study materials), include pictures and diagrams.

Sometimes making your own charts and diagrams will mean recreating the ones in your textbook from memory, and sometimes it will mean putting different pieces of information together yourself. Whatever the diagram type and whatever the class, writing your information down and making pictures out of it will be a great way to help you remember the material.

How to Study for a History Test

History tests are notorious for the amount of facts and dates you need to know. Make it easier to retain the information by using these two tips.

#9: Know Causes and Effects

It's easy and tempting to simply review long lists of dates of important events, but this likely won't be enough for you to do well on a history test, especially if it has any writing involved. Instead of only learning the important dates of, say, WWI, focus on learning the factors that led to the war and what its lasting impacts on the world were. By understanding the cause and effects of major events, you'll be able to link them to the larger themes you're learning in history class. Also, having more context about an event can often make it easier to remember little details and dates that go along with it.

#10: Make Your Own Timelines

Sometimes you need to know a lot of dates for a history test. In these cases, don't think passively reading your notes is enough. Unless you have an amazing memory, it'll take you a long time for all those dates to sink into your head if you only read through a list of them. Instead, make your own timeline.

Make your first timeline very neat, with all the information you need to know organized in a way that makes sense to you (this will typically be chronologically, but you may also choose to organize it by theme). Make this timeline as clear and helpful as you can, using different colors, highlighting important information, drawing arrows to connecting information, etc. Then, after you've studied enough to feel you have a solid grasp of the dates, rewrite your timeline from memory. This one doesn't have to be neat and organized, but include as much information as you remember. Continue this pattern of studying and writing timelines from memory until you have all the information memorized.

Know which direction events occur in to prepare for history tests.

How to Study for a Math Test

Math tests can be particularly intimating to many students, but if you're well-prepared for them, they're often straightforward.

#11: Redo Homework Problems

More than most tests, math tests usually are quite similar to the homework problems you've been doing. This means your homework contains dozens of practice problems you can work through. Try to review practice problems from every topic you'll be tested on, and focus especially on problems that you struggled with. Remember, don't just review how you solved the problem the first time. Instead, rewrite the problem, hide your notes, and solve it from scratch. Check your answer when you're finished. That'll ensure you're committing the information to memory and actually have a solid grasp of the concepts.

#12: Make a Formula Sheet

You're likely using a lot of formulas in your math class, and it can be hard remembering what they are and when to use them. Throughout the year, as you learn a new important formula, add it to a formula sheet you've created. For each formula, write out the formula, include any notes about when to use it, and include a sample problem that uses the formula. When your next math test rolls around, you'll have a useful guide to the key information you've been learning.

How to Study for an English Test

Whether your English test involves writing or not, here are two tips to follow as you prepare for it.

#13: Take Notes as You Read

When you're assigned reading for English class, it can be tempting to get through the material as quickly as possible and then move on to something else. However, this is not a good way to retain information, and come test day, you may be struggling to remember a lot of what you read. Highlighting important passages is also too passive a way to study. The way to really retain the information you read is to take notes. This takes more time and effort, but it'll help you commit the information to memory. Plus, when it comes time to study, you'll have a handy study guide ready and won't have to frantically flip through the book to try to remember what you read. The more effort you put into your notes, the more helpful they'll be. Consider organizing them by theme, character, or however else makes sense to you.

#14: Create Sample Essay Outlines

If the test you're taking requires you to write an essay, one of the best ways to be prepared is to develop essay outlines as you study. First, think about potential essay prompts your teacher might choose you to write about. Consider major themes, characters, plots, literary comparisons, etc., you discussed in class, and write down potential essay prompts. Just doing this will get you thinking critically about the material and help you be more prepared for the test.

Next, write outlines for the prompts you came up with (or, if you came up with a lot of prompts, choose the most likely to outline). These outlines don't need to contain much information, just your thesis and a few key points for each body paragraph. Even if your teacher chooses a different prompt than what you came up with, just thinking about what to write about and how you'll organize your thoughts will help you be more prepared for the test.

Fancy pen and ink not required to write essay outlines.

What to Do the Night Before the Test

Unfortunately, the night before a test is when many students make study choices that actually hurt their chances of getting a good grade. These three tips will help you do some final review in a way that helps you be at the top of your game the next day.

#15: Get Enough Sleep

One of the absolute best ways to prepare for a test-any test-is to be well-rested when you sit down to take it. Staying up all night cramming information isn't an effective way of studying, and being tired the next day can seriously impact your test-taking skills. Aim to get a solid eight hours of sleep the night before the test so that you can wake up refreshed and at the top of your test-taking game.

#16: Review Major Concepts

It can be tempting to try to go through all your notes the night before a test to review as much information as possible, but this will likely only leave you stressed to and overwhelmed by the information you're trying to remember. If you've been regularly reviewing information throughout the class, you shouldn't need much more than a quick review of major ideas, and perhaps a few smaller details you have difficulty remembering. Even if you've gotten behind on studying and are trying to review a lot of information, resist the information to cram and focus on only a few major topics. By keeping your final night review manageable, you have a better chance of committing that information to memory, and you'll avoid lack of sleep from late night cramming.

#17: Study Right Before You Go to Sleep

Studies have shown that if you review material right before you go to sleep, you have better memory recall the next day. (This is also true if you study the information right when you wake up.) This doesn't mean you should cram all night long (remember tip #15), but if there are a few key pieces of information you especially want to review or are having trouble committing to memory, review them right before you go to bed. Sweet dreams!

Summary: The Best Way to Study for a Test

If you're not sure how to study for a test effectively, you might end up wasting hours of time only to find that you've barely learned anything at all. Overall, the best way to study for a test, whether you want to know how to study for a math test or how to study for a history test, is to study regularly and practice active learning. Cramming information and trying to remember things just by looking over notes will rarely get you the score you want. Even though the tips we suggest do take time and effort on your part, they'll be worth it when you get the score you're working towards.

What's Next?

Want tips specifically on how to study for AP exams? We've outlined the f ive steps you need to follow to ace your AP classes.

Taking the SAT and need study tips? Our guide has every study tip you should follow to reach your SAT goal score.

Or are you taking the ACT instead? We've got you covered! Read our guide to learn four different ways to study for the ACT so you can choose the study plan that's best for you.

Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points? We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download them for free now:

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Christine graduated from Michigan State University with degrees in Environmental Biology and Geography and received her Master's from Duke University. In high school she scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT and was named a National Merit Finalist. She has taught English and biology in several countries.

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Study Tips for Teens with ADHD

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Diagnoses of attention-deficit disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADD/ADHD) have skyrocketed over the past decade. The 2016 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) reports that 2.9 million adolescents ages 12-17 (11.9 percent of this age group) have a current diagnosis of ADHD. Millions more go undiagnosed and untreated.

While ADHD’s challenges vary significantly, distractibility and disorganization are common experiences. They make tests and homework especially difficult and time-consuming. Assignments are often late or missing, which lowers grades and self-esteem. Ultimately, such challenges can have a serious negative impact on students’ ability to get into top colleges.

Happily, several techniques help high school students sharpen their focus, lower stress and produce high-quality homework. They result in better grades and stronger skills that serve students well during college and beyond. These practices lead to greater success with extracurricular activities, too.

To learn more about these techniques and suggestions and how they may help you during your high school years, read on.

1. Set up a distraction-free work space

Keep distractions to a minimum. Turn off the TV, mute and hide your phone and quit your emailer. Music may lower anxiety and drown out noises, but listening to compelling songs can make it hard to concentrate. If you’re convinced that music may aid your concentration, try pieces without lyrics. Using noise-canceling headphones, even without music, can help those sensitive to sound.

Additionally, if you need to move around a lot, consider standing or pacing while you work. Try using a fidget cube. Repetitive actions often soothe fidgety folk.

2. Keep a calendar of all assignments and due dates

This is the most important thing you can do to stay on track: keep all assignments and due dates written down in one place. Before every homework session, check your calendar to assess and prioritize what tasks must be done tonight:

Assignments due the next day are your first priority.
What else is due this week, and when?
Do future assignments need to be started early or done in phases?
Will any assignments need to be coordinated with other students?
Will you need special materials (books, supplies, etc.) to complete upcoming assignments?
Note upcoming activities that could keep you from accomplishing tasks on time; consider which projects you need to begin early.

You’re likely to have regular after-school activities like music lessons, tutoring, driver’s ed, athletic events, play rehearsals or jobs. Estimate how much time you’ll have left for homework after such activities. Next, consider what homework must be completed over the following days. You might need to start on larger assignments several days before they’re due.

3. Estimate how long each task will take

Distractible people tend to have difficulty estimating times needed to accomplish tasks. For accurate estimates:

List all tasks to be accomplished.
Break tasks up into segments.
How often do you need breaks? Plan on a five-minute break at each stopping point.
Estimate the time necessary to do each task.
Add estimates up, including all breaks.

Finally, track how long each task actually takes. This will make your future estimates more accurate and show where you tend to underestimate or forget steps.

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4. Take regular, timed breaks

Breaks release pent-up energy but derail attention. Before each break, set a timer for five minutes. Get up and away from work during each break. When the alarm goes off, no snoozes or excuses—get back to work.

Movement is vital to relieving stress and energy. During breaks, play with your pet, dance to a video, practice karate—do something physical to let off steam.

Parents, when kids take overly long breaks or forget to set alarms, remind them without scolding. A calm “Did your alarm go off?” or “When does your break end?” helps your child return to work quickly, and without embarrassment, which is itself a distraction.

5. Submit online assignments early

Websites crash, connectivity slows, power failures occur—be prepared. To avoid missing deadlines, set early deadlines for online submissions to allow for breaks and distractions. Before each deadline:

Estimate how long it will take.
Do you have other online deadlines that night?
Consider obligations that might keep you from completing the work on time.

Then, add up time estimates, plus time for breaks, plus a 20% margin to account for distractions or connectivity issues. This is the minimum amount of time you should budget before the deadline.

6. Try doing homework with a parent in the room

I hear your concerns: Won’t having parents around distract students? Don’t parents interfere or nag? Isn’t sitting quietly with studying teens boring? Actually for many teens with ADHD, having parents in the room improves focus. They stick to tasks longer since if they text, watch videos or play games, parents will notice. This works best when parents don’t interact with children excessively, nag, chat or make too much noise while teens work.

Teens with ADHD often feel like everyone else is playing while they work, which causes resentment. When parents do chores like cooking, paying bills or washing dishes nearby, or sit and read or work quietly while teens do homework, they set an example of productivity and responsibility. They show that they’re willing to forgo more exciting diversions to help their kids to focus.

Doing homework after a full day of school is frustrating, and sitting near students to encourage better work habits means extra work for parents. But parents who show respect and support for teens’ efforts tend to have a strongly positive influence, and their children have higher grades and test scores.

That said, many parents of teens with ADHD have the condition, too. If parents with ADHD find it hard to sit quietly near teens, they may cause anxiety and distraction. Such parents should leave the room, but consider dropping in with brief encouragements every 20 or 30 minutes.

If parents discover children in mid-distraction, neutral questions like “How’s it going?” can help. Teaching humans to behave positively works as training pets does: avoid giving unnecessary punishment and reward positive behaviors with encouragement.

7. Positive parental involvement builds self-confidence

Students learn best when they feel responsible for their successes. They feel pride in overcoming challenges themselves rather than relying on external rewards for motivation. They also benefit from consistent parental support.

Parents who know their teens’ challenges, track grades and offer sympathy for frustrations tend to have children with better study skills. Showing interest in children’s assignments demonstrates that school work is important, but this doesn’t mean doing your child’s homework. It means discussing what teens are working on and asking about your child’s thoughts on their work. We often learn best when we explain things to others. Encourage your child to demonstrate their knowledge and develop solutions independently.

8. One-on-one mentoring and tutoring builds lifelong skills

One of the best ways for easily distracted people to improve study skills is to receive individualized attention from a near-peer mentor. Mentors help teens sharpen their skills, improve focus and build self-confidence. They help students prioritize and organize their work, clarify goals, choose valuable and engaging extracurriculars and prepare for the challenges of college.

How Parents Can Help Teens Get Unstuck

Because people with ADHD are often criticized for their distractibility, they often experience guilt, shame or anxiety that can lead to emotional flooding. They become overwhelmed, making focusing on homework impossible.

Parents who show empathy help lower this anxiety and build trust. During flooding episodes, no amount of argument or reasoning makes things better. A flooded brain can’t think straight. To reset it, parents might try suggesting helpful distractions like:

Focused breathing, such as is done with yoga or meditation
Getting up to stretch, pace or play with pets
Playing an instrument or taking a dog for a walk
Listening to music or watching pleasing videos

An overwhelmed teen also needs a longer break; watching a comedy, reading for fun or exercising for a half-hour goes a long way toward calming anxiety attacks or quieting outbursts. So, encourage anxious teens to take a break and have another go. And don’t forget to congratulate them when they come up with their own solutions.

To aid in dealing with related frustrations, CollegeVine publishes Zen , a blog of articles supporting students’ mental health throughout the college admissions process.

Play a Little Every Day

Being a student is a challenging, full-time job. We all need breaks and encouragement to function at our best. Here are a few important things to remember:

Teens need breaks before as well as after homework. They need unstructured time every day to even out stress hormones.
Working right up until bedtime leads to bad sleep patterns. Relax before bedtime to make insomnia, a frequent side-effect of ADHD, less likely.

With adequate preparation, consistent habits and family support, teens with ADD/ADHD can be high-functioning, happy students who go on to be high achievers. Try these tips and techniques and see how much more satisfying and successful studying can be.

CollegeVine’s blog is full of effective tips for improving study habits, handling stress and improving focus and retention. These posts are especially useful for students with ADHD:

Handling Your Homework: Time-Saving Tips

6 Techniques for Dealing with Stress in High School

10 Real-World Study Tips to Improve Processing and Retention

Learning Disability? There Are Lots of Resources for You to Succeed in High School

Want access to expert college guidance — for free? When you create your free CollegeVine account, you will find out your real admissions chances, build a best-fit school list, learn how to improve your profile, and get your questions answered by experts and peers—all for free. Sign up for your CollegeVine account today to get a boost on your college journey.

The Best High School Homework Tools and Tips

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The Best High School Homework Tools and Tips

This post is sponsored by Casio. All opinions stated are entirely mine.

We are several weeks into the new school year, and I find myself breathless on the couch at the end of every day. Did we manage to get everything done today? Did we forget any kids around town? Did all the kids get to their scheduled activities, do their homework, AND get fed?! These are questions I ask myself on a daily basis.

Our four boys are back in school full-time after 18 months of hybrid learning. On top of that, they each have at least one after-school activity, friends to see, and of course routine medical and dental appointments to clutter our calendar. Needless to say, this is why we as a family are exhausted once the sun sets on our day.

However, there’s one child who continually blows me away with his stamina and positive outlook. Our high schooler is so genuinely happy to be back in school full time that he doesn’t complain over his academic workload or after-school activities.

Even while doing homework at 9:30 pm, he greets me with a big smile and says “goodnight mom, I will be done soon.”

It’s during times like these, I am thankful for the homework strategies we implemented early on in the kids’ school career.

Will our homework strategies prevent us from having late nights, stress, even forgotten or missed assignments? Of course not! No homework system is perfect and as we all know, life is full of thrown monkey wrenches.

However, putting systems in place with the best homework tools, organization and strategies will make the high school journey less bumpy. And I am sure all parents of teenagers want smooth sailing through the high school years.

So what’s needed to establish good homework habits in a high schooler? I am sharing our best homework tools, organization, and strategies.

High School Homework Tools

Before school started, I helped each of our kids set up their homework stations in their rooms. Unpacking the pencils and notebooks was fun, because who doesn’t love a fresh set of school supplies?! But the highlight of the experience was when our high schooler unpacked his new Casio FX-9750GIII calculator .

Stand back, people. The Casio FX-9750GIII calculator is more like a mini-computer and miles from the little “solar-powered” corporate promotional freebie I used when I was in high school.

I wish I had captured the sparkle and utter amazement in our high schooler’s eyes when he took his new Casio FX-9750GIII for a test drive. He flung more high-level math terms at me than I have heard in decades. Suddenly, it was as if he was speaking in tongue, holding his Casio FX-9750GIII calculator in the air like it was the Holy Grail.

Our high school Freshman (9th grade) is currently taking Algebra II with a class of Juniors (11th grade). He’s our little math wiz who thrives on numbers and calculations. The predictability of math and the challenge of finding the right answer has always been his jam.

The complexity and capabilities of the Casio FX-9750GIII blew him away. At first glance, the calculator looked rather intimidating. However, after checking out the online tutorials and videos, our little numbers guy was well on his way to making graphs on his new calculator.

The homework tools your high schooler needs are:

Setting up a homework station in their room works well for our two oldest kids.
I stock up on these items during the back-to-school sales and then keep a stockpile year-round.
Computer/ laptop.
Regardless of which level of math your high schooler is taking, the Casio FX-9750GIII calculator is the right machine – and it will take them through their high school career.

Reasons we love our Casio FX-9750GIII calculator:

It is approved for the SAT®, PSAT®, ACT® and AP® tests.
200+ hour battery life.
Affordable technology for middle and high school math classes.
All-in-one graphing calculator.
Easy-to-navigate icons menu.
Spreadsheet and geometry modes.
Programmable features.
Step-by-step videos and tutorials on the website.
I am no longer the go-to math tutor.

The Casio FX-9750GIII calculator is the perfect parenting partner. I handle the parenting issues relating to social and emotional issues while the Casio FX-9750GIII calculator answers math questions!

High School Homework Organization

This Homework Planner has saved our family from having countless late and missing assignments. Go ahead and download your free copy right now.

The Homework Planner includes the following pages:

Homework Assignments
Project Planner
Goal Setting

We use one page of the Homework Assignments for each of our student’s subjects and keep a current page in their daily binder.

When your kids start high school, you quickly realize the days of sitting down for several hours concentrated to do homework are a thing of the past. Once the busy schedule of a high schooler becomes a reality, there may only be small pockets of time throughout the afternoon and evening to complete tasks. However, with a good overview of what’s due and when your student can successfully manage his time and assignments.

Some homework assignments take only 10-15 minutes and with proper planning, your student can check those tasks off in-between activities or while waiting to eat dinner.

Print the free homework tracker and planner and put it to good use right away.

High School Homework Strategy and Stamina

As with any activity, it takes practice to build study stamina . At the beginning of the school year, the kids most likely feel rusty and tire after a few minutes of deep concentration.

These strategies help our kids to build their homework stamina in no time:

(Due to COVID, our kids take showers and change clothes as soon as they come home. This step acts as a great mind-reset and helps them quickly recharge before they sit down to do homework.)
It’s not like you have to force a teenager to eat, as they wake up hungry, go to bed hungry, and seem to spend every waking moment foraging for snacks in the pantry. However, making an effort to have healthier snack options readily available is beneficial to your constantly grazing teen.
Start with the hardest tasks first, while your mind is fresh.
Break down assignments into smaller, more manageable tasks (use the attached free homework planner to keep track of the various tasks).

As I write this, my head is spinning from trying to juggle our family’s daily tasks along with the transportation needs of our four kids. Once the kids come home from school, it is such a relief to know that they have the skills and the tools required to do their homework.

Of course, the kids need guidance, advice, and help from time to time, but that’s what I am here for – the parenting aspect of raising kids. The math part – that’s best left to the experts, like the Casio FX-9750GIII calculator .

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Your High School Get-It-Together Guide

High school is intimidating, overwhelming, and totally awesome — if you’re prepared to succeed get organized with these adhd-tested tips, like setting up a command center and stockpiling supplies, and the sky’s the limit..

You’re long past those awkward days of fumbling with your locker combination or struggling to change classes on time. You’re in high school: experienced, responsible, and ready to make great things happen. So isn’t it time you reinvent yourself as an organized young adult who’s got it together? Here’s how:

Set up a command center.

This is a place where you and your family plan all of the activities of the household. A family calendar and schedule with appointments, meal planning, travel, and chores should be located in this area. The center should have supplies (pens), a communication board, and notes that are color-coded by task or person. Be sure a hanging file folder, organizational box, or notebook containing important documents is nearby. This is also the place to hang a weekly printout of grades posted online. Meet with your family once a week and give your input.

Create a staging area near where you enter and exit the house.

Open cubbies/shelving and baskets and/or hooks will help you keep and remember items . This is home to your books, homework, backpack, notes, sports bag, keys, lunches, and other school-related articles. Hanging a large communication board will help you remember tasks and items. Consider placing a power strip in this area, so you can charge a phone, iPad, or other electronic device. An alarm clock or timer will help get you out the door on time.

Practice a last-minute drill.

After you are packed and ready to go, stop and do a mental checklist before going out the door. Take three breaths, talk through the mental to-do list, visualize where you are going to put things, and make mental associations for books, keys, and assignments. Take one last scan of the area before passing through the door. You might find it helpful to write reminder messages on shower doors and mirrors for when you first wake up. For example, “I am being picked up early this morning — not as much time to get ready.”

Remember assignments at school.

After each class, or when at your locker, check with a friend or your phone’s reminder app about assignments. Post a calendar/planner page in your locker or notebook (if lockers aren’t available). One strategy is to keep a sheet in each subject notebook on which to record daily assignments. Inventory your notebook and decide what materials you will need to pack; keep individual folders (or extra-large envelopes) for each subject, if you find it difficult to deal with notebooks.

[ Free Download: Transform Your Teen’s Apathy Into Engagement ]

Plan your homework.

If you don’t know where you are going, how will you know if you have arrived? Before you begin your studies, fill out a homework-planning sheet. Studyminder.com is a computer program that can help you plan your studies by asking, What is the assignment? How long will it take? What materials are needed? What supports are in place?

Know where you stand.

Print out your online grades on Thursdays. On Friday, gather materials and talk with your teachers about completing assignments over the weekend. Sunday is a good day to make a plan of action for the coming week.

Keep important papers and numbers at your fingertips.

Tired of chasing down information you need? Create an organized “chaser file” or notebook. This is where you keep important papers that you need in a hurry, as well as a list of contact numbers, codes, resources, and classmates in each class whom you can call if you get stuck on an assignment.

Create a “planner.”

Because of the increased academic demands of high school, your brain can’t hold all the directions teachers give you throughout the day. You need a planner. Some planners are too bulky and are not ADHD-friendly. Tear out blank pages from your notebook or create a planner on the computer. Use color-coding and bold-facing to highlight information.

[ The High School Study Guide for Teens with ADHD ]

Set up your notebook your way.

Some students like an accordion file system better than a tabbed divider system for their notebook. Talk with your teacher about how you would like to organize your notebook and explain to her why it works with your learning style. Try heavy-gauge notebook paper with reinforced holes, so that important information doesn’t fall out. Use clear slip-sleeves for papers that will stay in your notebook for the whole year.

Stockpile your supplies at the beginning of the year…

…to have on hand when you run out of them at midnight, when office supply stores are closed.

Use apps, smartphones, computers, and tablets to your advantage. Ask for a classroom accommodation if the school does not allow such devices in class. To stay on top of things, set alarms and reminder messages, or send yourself an e-mail, copying the people who will hold you accountable to finish a task.

[ 50 High School Accommodations for Every ADHD Challenge ]

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Take Control of Homework

Find the right college for you, don't let it control you..

Although very few students love homework, it does serve a purpose. Homework helps you:

Reinforce what you've learned during the day.
Build study habits that are essential in college.
Prepare for your classes.
Get a sense of progress.

College life involves a lot of adjustments for students. Will you have homework in college? Yes. And it can be one of the most daunting tasks you face there. Out-of-the-classroom learning is part of the college experience and essential for academic success. The good news is that learning some homework tips now will make it easier to do college homework later.

Set the Mood.

Create a good study area with everything you need (e.g., a calculator). If you don't have a quiet place at home, try your local library.

Know Where to Begin.

Make a list of everything you need to do. Note all deadlines. Do the more challenging assignments first so you don't have to face them at the end.

Study at the Same Time Every Day.

Even if you don't have homework every night, use the time to review notes. If sitting down to work is part of your everyday routine, you'll approach it with less dread. Also, you'll become a pro at using time productively.

Keep Things in Perspective.

Know how much weight each assignment or test carries. Use your time accordingly.

Get More Involved.

Keep your mind from wandering by taking notes, underlining sections, discussing topics with others, or relating your homework to something you're studying in another class.

Organize the Information.

People process information in different ways. Some people like to draw pictures or charts to digest information, while others prefer to read aloud or make detailed outlines. Try to find the methods that work best for you. Ask your teacher for recommendations if you're having trouble.

Take Advantage of Any Free Time.

If you have a study period or a long bus ride, use the time to review notes, prepare for an upcoming class, or start your homework.

Study with a Friend.

Get together with friends and classmates to quiz each other, compare notes, and predict test questions. Consider joining a study group.

Communicate.

If you have concerns about the amount or type of homework, talk to your family, teachers, or counselor. They can help you understand how much time you need to allot for homework and how to manage your tasks.

Celebrate Your Achievements.

Reward yourself for hitting milestones or doing something unusually well.

10 Study Techniques for Students with ADHD

It’s no secret that students with ADHD can find the process of studying to be challenging. In fact, the symptoms of ADHD can present as direct obstacles to successful study sessions, which, in turn, can affect academic performance and self confidence.

It’s important to remember that ADHD does not correlate with lower intelligence , as people of all cognitive abilities may have ADHD. In fact, some students with ADHD are very bright and fall into a category called 2E or twice exceptional. Students with ADHD do not necessarily need to spend any more time studying than their peers. With the right support, though, students with ADHD can develop strategies and study activities that help them find how they can study efficiently.

In this article, we’ll break down the best study tips for students with ADHD, including easy-to-implement techniques and strategies that any student can employ.

ADHD in Children and Students

According to CHADD, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a chronic neurodevelopmental disorder “characterized by developmentally inappropriate levels of inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity,” prevalent in 11% of children.

ADHD presents itself in three ways in students, as described by the CDC :

Predominantly Inattentive Presentation: The student struggles to stay on task, plan ahead, and stay organized. The student is forgetful and fails to follow directions.
Predominantly Hyperactive-Impulsive Presentation: The student is restless and impulsive, often interrupting others and acting out physically at inappropriate times.
Combined Presentation: The student has both hyperactive-Impulsive and inattentive ADHD symptoms.

No matter their ADHD presentation, students with ADHD can face academic and behavioral challenges. These challenges can lead to a lack of confidence, anxiety, and frustration with educational expectations.

10 Study Tips for Students with ADHD

Every student is different, so it may take some time to find the right study techniques for their needs. To get started, we’ve outlined our top ten study tips for students with ADHD below.

1. Plan ahead.

Consider planning as a separate task that needs to be done first. For students with ADHD, planning, along with prioritization and time management , can be difficult executive function skills to develop. This can lead to procrastination and cramming.

As soon as you know you have a test, creating a study plan that features dedicated study time and activities well in advance of the test helps to break steps into manageable parts. This study plan should include realistic goals that can serve as checkpoints along the way. You may benefit from using a dedicated execution function planner , like the planner from Effective Students , which includes study tips by class type and specific instructions about how to plan ahead.

2. Eliminate distractions.

With how connected we are to our phones and other media, it can be hard to commit to a distraction-free environment—but this is essential for better studying habits. When possible, remove all the distractions from your area while you study, including phones, televisions, family members, and pets.

This ADHD study tip may seem obvious, but it can often be the most overlooked. It’s easy for little distractions to slip into your study space. Once they’re present, you’re more likely to seek out those distractions and avoid studying. Specifically, students can put their phone or computer on “do not disturb” mode. They can also study with headphones to silence auditory distractions and utilize music that helps them keep up their pace.

3. Add sensory support.

It may seem counterintuitive to add factors to your study environment, but certain tools can help! Fidget toys can provide purposeful distraction, allowing you to enhance your focus on your primary task. The fidgeting takes the place of other distractions or wandering thoughts.

Similarly, listening to white noise has been shown to improve working memory in children. Other students may prefer a set soundtrack of music or even a metronome. You can also add food or drink to their study space to give you something to snack on.

4. Build a routine.

Many students with ADHD suffer from ADHD paralysis, which is the feeling of being overwhelmed by a task or the environment, leading to inaction. You can work to overcome ADHD paralysis by starting with an easy step first which builds behavioral momentum.

This study routine provides structure and comfort, particularly when paired with other study techniques, negating the paralysis. A study routine should always have a list, so you can check things off as they are completed, delivering an extra hit of dopamine and helping the student to continue.

A strong study routine will look different for each student who has ADHD, but it might involve studying and completing homework at the same time and in the same place every day or pairing homework time with a preferred snack. It’s also important to understand that you may not always be able to stick to your routine and plan, and that’s okay! Routines are especially helpful for implementing other ADHD study techniques and building strong executive function skills.

5. Use multiple study methods.

For students with ADHD, traditional study techniques like rereading notes may not feel effective and can lead to frustration. Seek out active study techniques that require engaging learning, allowing you to delve into concepts fully and engage with what you’re studying.

Study methods for students with ADHD can include:

Concept mapping
Spaced repetition
Flash cards
Explaining concepts outloud
Retrieval practice coupled with self correction
Note taking in outline format
Summarizing paragraphs in single sentences from text

6. Take breaks.

Some students with ADHD think they need to power through and study nonstop in order to study effectively, but incorporating breaks into your study session can actually be a great study technique. Set a timer or use the Pomodoro method to intersperse your studies with breaks and switch between assignments.

Consider incorporating a walk or other type of exercise into those breaks. Physical activity has been shown to be an effective boost for brain function and cognitive activity, with particular benefits when it comes to working memory. Choose an activity you like to do, like going for a quick bike ride or shooting some hoops, and you’ll also find yourself more relaxed when you return to studying.

7. Manage your healthcare.

It’s important to remember that ADHD is a medical condition, but it is not something you have to face alone. Check in with your support system, including family members, teachers, and guidance counselors, letting them know how your ADHD affects your studying and what study techniques you’ve employed to address them.

If you take medication for your ADHD, be sure to take it as prescribed and to closely follow any instructions from medical providers. Discuss any changes in your symptoms and lifestyle with your medical provider to ensure you have a successful management plan.

8. Use an organization system.

For students with ADHD, organization can be a daunting concept. The executive dysfunction that affects many people with ADHD makes staying organized extremely challenging, which can compound for students as they begin to forget about due dates or lose assignments.

By putting an organization system in place, you can get ahead of your tasks and studying, alleviating stress and leading to better academic performance. Effective organization systems are simple and repeatable, meeting students with ADHD where they are. This could be as simple as using a colored folder system and taking ten minutes at the beginning and ending of each day to physically organize schoolwork.

9. Practice self-care.

Did you know self-care can be a study technique? By practicing self-care and exercising mindfulness, you can become less judgmental toward yourself and become more relaxed when it comes to studying. Self-care for students can come in many forms, including journaling, meditating, and deep breathing practices.

Additionally, make sure you’re getting enough sleep and eating well. It can be tempting to stay up all night studying before a big test, but make sure you are balancing your overall well-being, too.

10. Embrace creativity.

Studying doesn’t always have to be strict! Lean into your creativity, and step outside of traditional study techniques. For example, if you enjoy art, consider making an illustrated mind map as part of your study.

Even if you don’t consider yourself a creative person, you can bring in creativity to your study methods through color coding your notes. Visual representations like color coding and charts can be extremely beneficial to your study practices. By finding more creative ways to study, you can also become more engaged with the material and become less likely to get distracted.

Develop ADHD Study Techniques with an Academic Coach

Students with ADHD benefit greatly from employing the old adage, “work smarter, not harder”—or, in this case, “study smarter, not harder.” Academic coaches can help students with ADHD learn to do just that.

Academic coaching teaches students how to approach and manage academic demands, helping them develop and practice a process that is effective and repeatable. Academic coaches work alongside students, rather than work for the students, leading to the development of academic independence.

Academic coaches can help students with ADHD in a myriad of ways, including:

Building academic management skills
Applying what they’ve learned
Fostering social and emotional skills
Expanding ability to focus
Transitioning successfully to new environments

With an ADHD academic coach, students learn more than practical study skills, as they have the opportunity to foster those habits and find real success.

Work with an ADHD Academic Coach at Effective Students

At Effective Students, we work with many students with ADHD. We’ve seen countless students overcome obstacles and achieve academic success that they never thought possible.

Need Help Now? Try a Virtual Coaching Session Here

Our ADHD academic coaching sessions tackle the core challenges students with ADHD face and deliver effective solutions. We also offer the Effective Student™ course, which teaches some of the essential study skills our coaches teach in an accessible format.

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How much homework should you be doing at high school?

August 3, 2023

Discussions about the merits of homework and how much or how little you should be doing have been raging for decades, but there is no one definitive answer about what the optimal amount of homework is or should be.

But you’re not here to hear how hard it is to work out how much homework and study you should be doing, you just want to know how much is enough.

We’re going to get to that in just a minute, but there are a few things to cover off first…

Excessive studying is unlikely to dramatically increase your academic outcomes.
Excessive study can be extremely bad for your physical and mental health.
Academic results are just one factor in your success, and excessive study can reduce the time and energy you have for other resume-boosting activities.

Too much study could be detrimental

Nothing is more important than your physical and mental health.

If you are:

Struggling at school
Feeling worried, anxious, or nervous about going to school or managing your workload
Often getting sick or not able to shake off colds and illnesses
Experiencing regular headaches, stomach problems, or unexplained weight loss or gains
Losing sleep

Then it’s really important that you speak to your parents / guardians as well as your teachers at school to let them know what’s going on and get some help. All of the above have been linked to excessive workloads and poor life balance in students across multiple studies.

Working over the recommended limits of homework could also be reducing your motivation and focus, which won’t help you kick your academic goals.

You’ll also have less time to rest, exercise, play sport or take part in other hobbies, work, and spend time with family and friends which are all important factors in your development and social-emotional wellbeing too.

There’s lots of research to back this up

Homework and study is helpful to consolidate what you’ve been taught in the classroom, in learning to manage your own time successfully and to develop your study skills. But it’s not the only thing that counts.

Quality homework and study is far more important than spending mindless hours covering the same work again and again. Educational guru John Hattie ranks the effects of homework at 88 out of 138 influences on learning.

“Homework that is meaningful and driven by student input is linked to improving attitudes, knowledge and student retention…” (Corno, 2000)

In fact, there’s no link between the volume of study and academic outcomes – Korea, Japan, and Finland, for example, are countries who assign the least amounts of homework but are ranked among top countries for reading, maths and writing ( Programme of International Student Achievement (PISA) results from 2015 ).

Regardless of the quality of study, if it exceeds a certain limit then it will lead to a decline in performance .

Moderate amounts of time spent on homework are linked to better results, but a great deal … of time spent on homework is actually less productive. This means when middle school students spend more than an hour and a half a night there is a correlation with lower scores. (Cooper, et al., 2006)

A 2015 study also found that middle school students assigned more than 90 to 100 minutes of daily homework began to see a fall in their maths and science test scores (Fernández-Alonso, Suárez-Álvarez, & Muñiz, 2015 ).

One more thing to bear in mind

If you decide to go university after high school, the expectation is that you’ll be studying for around 40 hours per week, and that includes all of your lectures, seminars, and tutorials (it’s the also the equivalent of a full-time working role).

So if you’re doing 30 hours of school and thinking that you need to do a further 20 or more hours of study each week, then you’d be doing more than if you were studying at university or working full-time.

Remember that work-life balance is important at all ages and is a great skill to master early in life.

So, how much homework should you be doing?

We have looked at a number of scholarly articles and studies and this is what we’ve found:

Students in middle school should aim to do up to one hour of homework per weekday.
For students in lower senior school between one and two hours a day is reasonable.
If you’re in upper senior school then studying for 2 hours per day is a good amount of time to aim for.

Bear in mind that these times could vary depending on your workload. For example, if you’re taking more subjects than other students in your cohort, or if you’re taking part in extra programs, then the amount of study you may have to do could increase.

Around assessment and exam time then you might find you’re reaching the upper limits of the recommended homework times too, and that’s normal, but it shouldn’t be the norm for your entire school year.

The other thing to remember is that you don’t need to do all this study in big blocks – you can break it up. Read your notes on the bus or train on the way to school, watch a documentary that relates to your classwork, or start a project that extends what you’ve been doing at school. You can also count time spent studying with friends, or even talking with peers about your subjects, as long as you’re either learning or revising.

Ready to start studying?

Great! To get the most out of your study time we recommend that you:

Get organised. Make sure you have everything you need including a work space that helps you to focus without distractions if possible. Your school or community library perhaps if home is too busy?
Work out when your peak study times are – are you an early bird or a night owl?
Write a Study Plan and, most importantly, stick to it .
Remember to incorporate breaks into your study time.

“After about 15 minutes of learning and practising something – such as the Pythagorean theorem in maths – the regions of the brain activated in spatial-numerical learning get fatigued and need to rebuild the neurotransmitters, such as dopamine, that get depleted. The restoration only takes a few minutes if the break is timely, but if they are pushed to stay with that same process for too long, stress builds, neurotransmitters drop way down and it will take twice as long to restore full efficiency to that area of the brain.” – Judy Willis

If you’re looking for more study tips and ideas, we’ve got lots to share – head over to this page .

How to annotate books for assignments

How to stay focused while studying

The 8 best study apps for students

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Tips for the ultimate study space setup

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Homework and Study Habits: Tips for Kids and Teenagers

Certain key practices will make life easier for everyone in the family when it comes to studying and organization. However, some of the methods may require an adjustment for other members of the family.

RELATED : Download Our Free Homework Charts !

Turn off the TV. Make a house rule, depending on the location of the screen, that when it is study time, it is “no TV” time. A running tv will draw kids like bees to honey.
What about the radio or other audio devices? Should it be on or off? Contrary to what many specialists say, some kids do seem to function well with the radio turned on to a favorite music station. (Depending on the layout of your house or apartment, maybe an investment in earbuds would be worthy of consideration.)
Set specific rules about using cell phones during study hours. For instance, use of a cell phone can only occur if it becomes necessary to call a schoolmate to confirm an assignment or discuss particularly challenging homework.
Designate specific areas for homework and studying. Designate specific areas for homework and studying. Possibilities include the kitchen, dining room, or your child’s bedroom. Eliminate as much distraction as possible. Since many kids will study in their rooms, the function becomes more important than beauty. Most desks for kids don’t have enough space to spread out materials. A table that allows for all necessary supplies such as pencils, pens, paper, books, and other essentials works exceptionally well.
Consider placing a bulletin board in your child’s room above the desk. Your local hardware store may sell wallboard that is inexpensive and perfect to post essential school items. You may decide to paint or cover it with burlap to improve its appearance or let your child take on this project.
Keeping general supplies on hand is important. Check with your child about his or her needs. Make it his/her responsibility to be well supplied with paper, pencils, notepads, etc. Encourage the use of a notebook for writing down assignments so there is no confusion about when they must be turned in to the teacher.
Consistency is a critical factor in academic success. Try to organize the household so that dinner is at a regular hour, and once it’s over, it’s time to crack the books. If your child doesn’t have other commitments and gets home reasonably early from school, some homework completion can occur before dinner.
Consider your child’s developmental level when setting the amount of time for homework. While high school students can focus for over an hour, first-graders are unlikely to last more than 15 minutes on a single task. Allow your child to take breaks, perhaps as a reward for finishing a section of the work.
Organize study and homework projects. Get a large dry erase calendar — one that allows space for jotting things down in the daily boxes. Have your child use different bold colored dry erase markers to write exam dates, reports that are coming due, etc. This will serve as a reminder so that assignments aren’t set aside until the last minute.
Teach your child that studying is more than just doing homework assignments. One of the most misunderstood aspects of schoolwork is the difference between studying and doing homework assignments. Encourage your child to do things such as:
take notes as he’s/she’s reading a chapter
learn to skim material
learn to study tables and charts
learn to summarize what he/she has read in his/her own words
learn to make his/her own flashcards for a quick review of dates, formulas, spelling words, etc.
“How did the math test go?”
“How did you do on the history report?”
“How’s your science project coming along? Need any help?”
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Although aspects of the homework routine will be familiar from primary school, the volume of your child's homework may start to increase in Year 7.

There are various techniques, resources and tools available to make things easier. It's also important to understand some of the background about the role of homework during this busy period in your child's life.

What's different about high school?

Children face more distractions as their social and emotional lives become more complex.
Anxieties, including about academic performance might become more intense.
There is a new requirement for study time distinct from set homework assignments.
Subjects like maths can become more challenging, including for parents trying to assist.
Students may receive homework from different teachers across multiple subjects.

Denise Tsirigos, English Advisor 7-12, says homework becomes more important as children get older.

"We know homework is even more important for academic development at high school than at primary level," she says.

We also know parent or carer involvement can make a really positive contribution to the outcomes in all areas of learning, including homework.

Coping with distractions at home

As children enter their teens, new horizons and experiences inevitably create distractions, and connected devices are the biggest channel for these to enter the home. A few handy tips:

Create a dedicated study area an internet-free zone (unless the session requires online research). Switch off or remove mobiles, TVs and gaming devices.
If that?s impractical, consider downloading a social media lockout app or switching on aeroplane mode during study time to prevent interruptions.
Make sure friends and other family members know not to disturb homework time.

Staying motivated, organised and engaged

Students often try to avoid subjects they find difficult, irrelevant or boring. Some tips to help deal with procrastination include:

Break the task down into smaller chunks: brainstorm to identify headings; list them and summarise relevant information, one at a time.
Make a to-do list of tasks they can check off as they finish.
Monitor their progress and reward each step.

?Parents and carers can help by providing support and the right environment but ultimately it?s up to students themselves to get the work done, Ms Tsirigos says.

"By the time they reach high school, kids should be developing independent working habits. Homework is partly to refine these."

Nothing saps motivation (or provides a better excuse) than the lack of some vital piece of equipment. Do a stocktake and make sure they have they need in the study area:

pens and pencils
highlighters
computer, internet and printer only if required.

Confronting doubts, building resilience

If your teen still seems unable to settle down to work, talk about what's on their mind. If they're worried about school performance come up with some strategies to help.

Video - What is your teenager trying to tell you?

Duration - 2:53

Read the transcript for 'What is your teenager trying to tell you?'.

You could encourage them to set goals and write down the steps to achieve them - making a start on homework as soon as it's set, for example.

Ms Tsirigos says parents and carers should highlight strengths and successes, while also helping their child to see setbacks as a natural part of the learning process.

"There's no need to dwell on mistakes but they shouldn't be totally ignored either. Try to help your teen value them as something they can learn and benefit from," she says.

For specific academic hurdles, you can also encourage them to seek help from school counsellors and teachers. If they're anxious about something else - social situations, for example - counsellors may be helpful as well.

Reachout.com is a great resource with practical support, tools and tips for young people navigating the ups and downs of teenage life. It's useful for parents and carers too.

Staying healthy

Although many students understand the need for regular study, a lot don't realise their physical and mental health are just as important.

This requires:

a healthy, balanced diet
plenty of water but not coffee (if they must, limit to one per day and not after midday)
enough sleep (at least 8 to 10 hours is recommended)
exercise and downtime each day.

Video - Three steps to stress-free study

Duration - 2:32

Read the transcript for 'Three steps to stress-free study'.

Getting down to work

With the right environment and mindset in place, it's time to start grappling with the content. Once your child has established a working pattern, help them maintain it. Routine builds confidence and improves overall results.

Ms Tsirigos says there's no one 'best' way to work and teens should be encouraged to develop an approach that is effective for them.

Study versus homework

Regular study time is important at high school and it's important to understand this is completely different from set homework.

Study involves regular review of work covered in class, summarising key ideas and practising tasks with additional reading and research.

Taking effective notes

Notes or summaries are essential for effective study and they're also a great way to prepare for tests and assessments.

When summarising, students pick out the most important information and write it in the shortest way possible, using their own words.

Summaries can be in a student's own shorthand and may include:

headings and subheadings
abbreviations and symbols
diagrams, mind maps or brainstorms
highlighting and annotations
colour coding (colour can stimulate memory).

Help with maths

Maths often becomes more challenging in high school. Here are some tips to encourage your child and help them maintain confidence:

Talk positively, even if you struggled with maths yourself. Don?t give them an excuse to give up ? let them know you believe they can succeed.

Practice works better than anything else. Help identify weaknesses and make a plan to work on them. Their confidence will increase as they see improvements.

Ask about their homework and what they?re learning. They?ll appreciate your interest and feel more motivated.

Reach out to their teacher. They can provide advice and support materials.

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6 Study Tips for College-Bound Teens

U.S. News & World Report

August 22, 2024, 8:00 PM

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Transitioning to college can be daunting for students as they navigate a new learning environment without the familiar guardrails of high school .

But those who hone their study skills in high school are better prepared to take responsibility for their learning and time management in college, experts say.

“You’re building habits whether you think you’re doing it or not,” says Carl Foreman, master tutor for college admissions consulting company IvyWise. “Either you’re building good habits or you’re building bad habits. It’s best to establish norms as early as possible when the stakes are as low as possible so that when the stakes rise, you can keep up with that and just adjust your process to match those stakes.”

Prioritizing study habits may not come naturally, but experts say students should take responsibility for intentional planning during high school to establish rhythms that last.

“That isn’t to say parents and teachers can’t help provide some structure, but as a student, you must come to understand and internalize why certain practices are beneficial for you and learn how to develop those practices into habits,” Bernie Savarese, vice president for academic affairs, research and student success for the University of Tennessee system, wrote in an email.

“When it comes to why this is a struggle, I’d say we’ve left too much up to chance, assuming students either have good study habits or they don’t. Instead, we need to help students embrace a growth mindset and realize these habits are learned behaviors that all students have access to.”

Here are six ways college-bound high school students can develop good study habits.

Ask for Help

Because college is typically more self-directed than high school, students must learn to advocate for themselves. When needs arise, it’s their responsibility to seek help from a professor, classmate or campus tutor and to find resources like academic advisers , mental health services and study groups.

[ READ: 4 Tips for College Success ]

While overly hands-on high school teachers may limit opportunities for self-advocacy, experts say students should look for ways to practice these skills before college.

“Students might arrive at college with little to no experience meeting with their instructors outside of classes, yet faculty office hours are one of the best resources you’ll have as a college student to excel in your classes, figure out your academic path and forge connections that will help you down the line in the form of grad school or employment recommendations,” Tina Brooks, a senior private counselor for admissions consulting firm Top Tier Admissions, wrote in an email.

“Even if it’s not common at your (high) school to meet with your teachers, try to arrive early or stay a few minutes after class to ask a question. Or, if your teachers do have open hours, use them to ask your teachers about something discussed in class.”

Keep a Calendar

The foundation for good study habits is “an understanding of and appreciation for the importance of time management,” Savarese says.

College professors generally won’t remind students of due dates as often as their high school teachers did. Using a calendar is one of the best ways to stay organized, remember due dates and avoid procrastination and stress , experts say.

Cell phones and laptops can help students manage a digital calendar with reminders. Traditional paper calendars can also be useful, experts say.

“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen a college student not realize they had two mid-terms or multiple papers in the same week because they didn’t take the time to map out their known assignments,” Savarese says. By using a calendar, “students can work backwards, accounting for each assignment and building in a little study time each day instead of cramming at the last minute.”

[ Time Management Tips for College-Bound High School Students ]

Take Good Notes

Many college courses are lecture-oriented and students are expected or encouraged to take notes. Detailed note-taking may be crucial to a student’s success, but just getting the notes down isn’t enough, Foreman says.

“If you’re going to take notes, when you get home, get in the habit of pulling out those notes and looking at them again,” he says. “If you look at your notes every day, you’re kind of passively studying so that when there’s a big test or that paper is due, so much of that material is toward the front of your mind and you don’t have to cram.”

Meet Deadlines

High school teachers may be lenient with late work or make-up work policies, and some students make a habit of taking advantage of that grace, says Colleen Paparella, founder of DC College Counseling.

College professors likely won’t be as forgiving, she says. High school students should make a habit of meeting deadlines and assuming there won’t be a chance to turn work in late or redo it.

“That’s something where parents can talk to their kids and say, ‘even if you have an opportunity to make this up, take that as a true make-up opportunity,'” she says. “Don’t go into it thinking that you don’t have to do your best the first time around.”

Take Care of Your Body

Build and maintain a routine that includes regular physical activity in high school. It’s usually easier to keep this momentum going once you get to college than it is to start, experts say.

“If you like playing a sport and you can get your exercise that way, that’s great. If you’d rather work out at the gym, that’s great too,” Paparella says. “But you definitely need to build that in so that it becomes a habit.”

[ See: Don’t Make These 8 Freshman Mistakes in College. ]

Rest is another important piece of the puzzle. Paparella says many students she works with don’t get enough sleep . Between classes, extracurricular activities and homework, high school students may sacrifice hours of sleep to get everything done. For teens, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends eight to 10 hours of sleep each night.

High school students can form good sleep habits by following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations to stick to a consistent sleep schedule and limit light exposure and technology use in the evenings.

Prioritize Regular Attendance

High schools typically have policies that discipline students for unexcused absences from class. While such policies — or rewards for perfect attendance — may be motivating, college attendance policies are usually different.

Some professors take attendance, but generally you can choose whether to show up. Experts say you should make a point of being in class every day through high school and carry that habit with you to college.

“It’s such a slippery slope in terms of skipping class,” Paparella says. “You cannot do well in these classes if you are not going to them. It doesn’t matter if the professor is taking attendance or not, it’s next to impossible to succeed if you’re not going to class. Don’t let yourself go down that road. Don’t skip that first class. It’s almost addictive in a way.”

Searching for a college? Get our complete rankings of Best Colleges.

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