Secondary education is the foundation that prepares students for the challenges they may face in the future by building their knowledge base and confidence. Academic performance is one of the important goals of secondary education. Though some students might be working hard, some poor study habits and attitudes may be keeping them from doing well in academics.
At times of failure, it’s important that you take responsibility and commit to an action plan to change. Whether your grades have declined, you are failing a class, or you simply are unable to achieve your target, it’s never too late to apply certain changes to your study habits.
As students advance from Preschool in Singapore to secondary schools, the learning becomes difficult and tricky. Below are few strategies to help you improve your academic performance in school:
- Have a Positive Mental Headspace
While one may feel disappointed when they see their grades falling lower than expected. However, to improve the situation, keeping a positive mental headspace is a must. Students must acknowledge that it is only them who can improve their grades by keeping a positive attitude. Students must kick out the negativity from their minds and focus on the positive aspects of their studies.
- Work out your weaker areas
You need to work out which are your weaker areas and need targeting before you can draw up a plan of action. So, the next step is to figure out the areas in which you are underperforming and why.
Ask questions to yourself-
- Has there been a general decline in your academic achievement, or have your grades in particular areas always been lower than you’d expected?
- Are you always getting low grades in the same areas, such as one problem subject (topic)?
You’ll probably have a vague idea of the answers to the above questions, so you just need to work on that.
- Try to Enhance your Memory
When you were studying in Preschool in Singapore it was very easy to understand and learn answers. This is because our minds are clear from distractions when we are young. As we grow up a number of unnecessary things clutter in our minds.
With so many concepts to remember, it’s a task for students to learn and remember everything. Hence, to improve their academic performance, students must work on their memory skills to facilitate better learning and grades.
- Pay more attention and ask questions in class
Listen to what the teacher is explaining rather than talking to your friends. Don’t simply copy down whatever’s on the board to make sure you have understood the content. If not you can ask the teacher to clear your doubt.
5. Start organising your life
Keep your study area neat and tidy with all your notes and textbooks organised in such a way that you know where everything is.
Make a daily timetable that would incorporate your school schedule, dividing your day into time slots and fitting in plenty of time for studying. Allocate extra time to topics or subjects you struggle with. It could be that the reason for your underperformance in these topics is that you’re not devoting enough time to them.
6. Talk to your teachers
Your Secondary School teachers know you best, so it’s worth talking to them when you are drawing up a plan of action for improving your performance. Ask them where they think you need to work hard, they will probably have some advice on how you can go about it.
7. Find the right learning style for you
If you are underperforming academically, another possible reason can be that you have not yet found the right learning style for you. We all are different, and have our own way of studying that works best for each one of us and produces the best results.
Perhaps you just have not found your most effective studying style yet. If you have been trying to work on your own, for eg., you may find it easier to work with a friend or two, so that you have another person to motivate you.
8. Stop procrastinating
One of the reasons why your grades are declining could be that you are procrastinating your studies– that is, putting off studying for a later time or day. Students often procrastinate due to overthinking, so whenever you tend to overthink just take your notes and start studying, you will come in an active mood.
Conclusion
In addition to the above points, other factors essential for improving Secondary School students’ academic performance are maintaining a healthy lifestyle, eating a balanced diet, drinking plenty of water, exercising regularly, avoiding smoking and drinking, and making time for yourself and friends.
Academic performance is a measurement of a student’s achievement in any academic institution. When you are a student, your academic grades (marks) hold utmost importance in your life. Furthermore, in today’s world, the academic score is of great importance to shape your career in a good way.
