Raising Grades

Raising Grades!

The best teacher I ever had and her husband, both history buffs and experts in their field, called me one day for help.  Their eleventh grade daughter was barely passing AP American History.  Their daughter needed to get her grades up quickly or she would fail the class!  I knew there were two important changes this student needed to make in order to raise her grades enough to pass the class:

1) STUDY FOR 3-5 DAYS TO PREPARE FOR A TEST: Many students procrastinate 

and try to force all the information into their brains the night before the exam.  Although this 

technique might work for younger students, cramming is not a foolproof method when the 

information becomes more voluminous. Breaking up the studying allows the student more 

time to prepare and retain information so they aren’t overwhelmed.

2) ACTIVELY LEARN: Students tend to equate studying with reading the chapter of their 

textbook over and over. I teach that reading does not necessarily lead to the information 

becoming imprinted in the brain. Active learning involves outlining the material, memorizing 

the information (many times using mnemonics or visual cues), being tested on the material, 

and taking retests. 

Best Friends Forever

One of my fourth-grade students was having trouble memorizing her history short essay: “Why was it dangerous to travel along the trails to California during the Gold Rush?” She could only remember three reasons. I explained to her that she needed to make the information meaningful. The 5 facts that she was required to include were:

• Burning deserts  

• Steep mountain passes  

• Travelers did not prepare well 

• Flooded rivers

• Finding fresh water was difficult

Together, we came up with a mnemonic—BeST Friends Forever (B=burning deserts, S=steep mountain passes, T=travelers did not prepare well, F=flooded rivers, and F=finding fresh water). 

Within minutes, she had the 5 facts memorized! We then wrote out a practice paragraph in which she had to answer the question with a topic sentence, five supporting details (including more in-depth analysis), and a conclusion sentence. A month after the test, I asked my student to recall the five facts, and she easily recited them…she had imprinted the information into her long-term memory!

Utilize the Internet!

One of the reasons that the student in AP American History was doing so poorly was that she didn’t have enough practice answering multiple-choice questions. She would get stuck between two answers and constantly pick the wrong one. Together we found sites like Sparknotes  (www.sparknotes.com) that offer many multiple choice quizzes where she could practice. 

Seek Help Sooner 

Students should seek help from their teacher or another teacher adept in the same subject matter who can re-explain the material. Many teachers are willing to meet with students who are having trouble and genuinely want to make a difference.  Those teachers have even been known to write my students letters of recommendation for college because they are witnesses to the students’ hard work and perseverance. Libraries are another great resource and are now offering free tutoring services. The Sacramento Public Library has a service available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, called QuestionPoint, which connects students with librarians nationwide.

Finally, if a student is still struggling there is always the option to hire a private tutor!