Wondering how to get good grades?
The age-old question for every student and parent of students has to do with ways to get good grades. For many struggling students they think there is a magic formula that will take that low D to an A overnight, but that unfortunately is not reality. The good news is that the actual formula is completely possible.
Here are a few key ways to get good grades.
Hard Work
I know this sounds incredibly cliché but hard work has so many positive outcomes. When you decide that you are going to work hard on something, it shifts something in your mind because it goes from an impersonal assignment to something that you are investing in. Think about it; any time that you have worked at something the end result usually brings a sense of pride and accomplishment. When you apply this principal to your schoolwork, it usually produces a similar result. Even if you are not a stellar student, hard work will take your work up a step and give you the tools you need to persevere and succeed over the length of the year.
Pay Attention!
This again is a simple step that makes a huge difference. If you ask any teacher, they will tell you that over 90% of the material that is covered on test or exams was taught in class and repeated at least once. That means that the simple act of paying attention while the teacher is talking and possibly taking some notes, will improve your achievement. This is one of the ways to get good grades that seems to be the easiest. If you are going to be in school eight hours a day, you may as well pay attention and not have to repeat a class.
Ask Questions
This is one of the ways to get good grades that often intimidates quieter students. If you look at your classroom situations, it is common that the students who have the highest grades are the ones who are involved in class discussions and ask and answer questions. When a teacher asks if there are any questions and you have one, ask it! Chances are if you are wondering about something, so is someone else in the room. You should not feel silly or ridiculous about asking a question that will help you be successful in school.
Do Your Work and Turn It In On Time
Doing your work is the number one way to get good grades. If you do not turn your work in or you turn it in incomplete, then you are setting yourself up to fail. Most teachers have late policies that take off up to half of the points for being late. Think about it like this: You have an assignment that you are eventually going to complete anyway, but you decide to wait a day and turn it in late. Now, you have a fully finished and complete assignment, but the highest grade you can get on it is a 50 or at best a 70. You just did A level work, but because you did not turn it in on time, you received a D. This is where most students see the biggest jump in their grades. Turning your work in on time may seem dumb to you, but to a teacher it shows that you are serious about your education, and when you score low on these assignments they will be more likely to help you redo it if they knew that you did it correctly and on time the first time.
Study For Tests
One of the ways to get good grades is to learn how to study in a way that works for you. Most students today do not know what the word study even means. It might even be good to take a study skills class or look some ways to study up online. Find out what kind of learner you are: kinesthetic, auditory, visual, etc. and implement some techniques into your study routine that will maximize your study time. It does you no good to study for an hour in a way that does not benefit you. If you learn how to study well, then you will be able to study fewer hours with better results.
