The school year is coming to an end but before students are able to sign out they have to take their final exams. It’s AP and IB testing season, everyone! Not exciting whatsoever but it is one step closer to summer. During April and May the stress to study and process material increases. Some students find themselves googling, “What is the best way to study?” or “Fastest way to learn calculus.”
First, I want to remind you that your test scores do not define you as an individual. To help ease this stressful season of testing, here are some methods of studying. You want to create a schedule for yourself and possibly take some practice tests to see what you need help studying with. There is a free tool the district has provided students with known as Paper. This site is for tutoring in any subject you need help with and is available twenty-four hours a day.
Once you have an overall understanding of what you need to know there are different methods of learning. For some students, it is easy to memorize subjects and for others, it is better to practice them. You can use Quizlet to create flashcards online or you can make them on actual flashcards if you prefer to study hands-on. To prepare for your exams you can ask previous students who took the class for any materials that helped them study. Maybe that is a website, notes, or videos. It could be a review packet, however long the worksheet may be, make sure to break down each section. Don’t try to take up too much studying in one day and create a schedule to break up the sections. Studying is different for everyone and some need more time than others.
To help you study you want to remember that rest is important. Make sure you are taking care of yourself before you have your brain try to memorize material for hours. Get at least eight hours of sleep, eat a good breakfast, and listen to music if that calms you down. Eliminate distractions, and most importantly, take breaks. One method that has helped me is the “Study with me” videos on YouTube. In the video, there would be someone listening to calming music and there was a timer. The timer had a stopwatch to study for one hour and take a fifteen-minute break. There are many different types of videos and you can choose one to watch if you would like to have the feeling that someone is also studying with you.
Every student is different in how they study and what works for them. Some like to study alone or with a group of friends. Others might watch videos to learn or do quizzes on Khan Academy. It all depends on what works for the student.
Let’s hear from some different North students.
“If I don’t already know something that is on the test, I will study. I like to do study guides or writing down what I know and then filling in what I don’t know. I think studying helps me to be prepared for the test, but then again, you don’t know any of the questions that are going to be on the test,” said Olivia Allision, junior.
“It all depends on how many quizzes, tests, or projects I have that day but typically I study at least twice a week and sometimes review my work to make sure I do understand the material I’m learning I personally like to take cornell style notes and review my notes when studying, I’ll use highlighters to highlight key ideas & I like to analyze my work by adding annotations and notes in the margins to help me understand what I just learned. I do think studying helps me because when I study I feel more prepared to take any quiz/test and I think I do perform better on quizzes/tests when I study vs. when I don’t,” said Daysi Cisneros, sophomore.
“This year I’ve had to study for IB Biology, but for my other subjects I either do the review work, read the book, or wing it. For IB Biology I go over the material with my mom. She breaks it down visually and into components I can understand. I also use khan academy and quizzes I find online. For my other subjects, I do the review packets just to have the material fresh in my mind. I study so I do well on the tests and my grade improves or stays the same. I think studying can only help you, but sometimes I don’t have the energy for it, which is when I wing it,” said Jessica Ross, senior.