Being a high school student can be hard sometimes. Especially when you have loads of texts and exams. You may find yourself staying up all night, cramming material, trying to prepare for a text the next day. This may seem good but it isn’t really helping you. Here are some things you can do to improve your study skills and testing scores.

1. Study When You Are Sleeping– during sleep, your brain strengthens new memories. So maybe right before you go the sleep, read some of your notes or materials.
2. Space It Out (aka Spaced Repetition)- When looking at a study guide or book, you may be overwhelmed with the amount of material there. When you split up the material into small pieces and master one at a time, you will definitely obtain the information better.
3. Move Around– When studying our brains are not only focused on your work but also on your environment. Your brain will often get used to the scenery and tie the information to it. On that note, studying in a different place every night can help you tie material and understand it better.
4. Switch it Up– Most people like to break up their studies in categories such as, Math, Science, and English. They will do all the work in those categories then move on to the next. However, this isn’t helping you. It’s actually better to move from subject to subject so that the information doesn’t bleed together.
5. Put Yourself to the Test– After you feel mostly confident about the material you have studied, have a friend or family member verbally test you and see how you do. An alternative method is to look for quizzes online.
6. Write it Out– If you need to know a fact or date super well, write it down. Alot. Writing things down repeatedly will help you remember it.
7. Treat Yo’ Self– While studying, we tend to get distracted. So while reading or doing a worksheet, set a few little goals and put prizes to go with those. Knowing that there is an award at the end of your chapter or worksheet can help motivate you to finish.
8. Take a Timeout– When we are working, we tend to get tired. During your studies, take a break and go for a 30 minute walk. Getting up and active can improve concentration and brain power.
9. Color Coat– The brain is like a camera, if you put a lined paper with notes in black ink, it can be harder to want to study them. If you put your vocabulary in blue, your facts in red, and your dates in green, you may remember them better and want to study them more.
10. Summarize– When you have a large amount of text to read and study it may be hard to study important facts. To help you can add a small summary after each paragraph or chapter. This will help when you go back to study.

   In conclusion, high school may be hard but maybe if you give these tips a try, you can help make it a bit better.