Top ten ways to get better grades and study less.

1. Make each class a priority. Show up on time. Participate.

2.Respect each teacher you have and learn how they test. Pay attention to what they emphasize and how they like to structure their classes and grading. Just like in athletics except your teachers are not your opponents, but you must learn how they think

3. Take great notes in class. When you get home, you have probably heard it before, but go back over the notes and rewrite them clearly. Even if you have good penmanship, you may have missed something while taking notes. By going over them the night of the class, it reinforces what you learned that day and helps you correct any mistakes and misunderstandings you may have written down on your paper.

4. Sit towards the front of the class. If the teacher has assigned seats after class one day ask them privately if you can sit near the front. Tell them you see this class as being important and you feel you will get the most out of the class by sitting close

5. Be on time and prepared. Have all the information you need for that class (book, paper, pen, etc.). Whatever you are supposed to have for that class be prepared so you do not miss anything.

6. Do all your assignments on time. All homework needs to be completed and on time. Just like an unnecessary foul or penalty, you are taking points away from yourself by not having things in on time.

7.Take advantage of any extra credit opportunities you may have. Most extra credit points are easy and take very little time. Those extra points are valuable and add up at the end of the semester.

8. Use any extra free time to study and learn more about your subject. Less TV and less video games equals better grades every time. Better grades means better schools. Better schools means better jobs.
With the information that is available at your fingertips today there is no reason why you should not be up to date on any topic your teacher discusses. If something really interests see if you can find some video or information on line that can help you had better understand the topic.

9.Be ready days before the test. Cramming is not going to help you in the long run. You can do well here and there by cramming, but in no way will you get consistent results by trying to stay up late the night before the test.

10. Get a memorization technique that works for you
You will be able to ace the tests and subjects that used to be tough simply by coming up with a memorization system.
We will talk more about this one in a later blog.