Walking into a classroom full of students taking a test will provide someone with different observations. There are mainly two types of test takers, students who are anxious because they didn’t study and students who are confident because they did study. 

Especially while starting out school as a freshman, some students don’t have all of their study habits established and may be unsure of how to go about studying.  However, freshman Leah Liberty, Vaughn Spooner, and sophomore Marissa Hein share how they are able to be efficient scholars in school.

“If I don’t study then I get a worse grade and if I do study, I’ll get a better grade and I’ll feel more achieved and confident in myself,” Spooner said.

There are many approaches to go about with studying and using resources such as notes, flash cards, study guides, etc. are all good ways to study, and some students prefer using one resource over another. Liberty finds herself utilizing notes more and re-writing information so she can remember it; meanwhile, Spooner prefers another way.

“I go home and put on some music cause it helps me study and I’ll pull up the study guide and study a few nights before, every night for about 30 minutes,” Spooner said.

A very popular online resource used amongst teachers and students is Quizlet. An app in which students can flip through flashcards, take practice tests over them, play matching games with them, etc. Hein said it is one of the best and easiest resources to study with.

“It helps me retain the information,” Hein said. “It tests your brain cause you can get a certain amount of information but you, yourself have to recognize that missing piece of information you need.”

Using time effectively is a key element to receive effective results in studying. Only spending a short amount of time studying will not give someone the same results than if they were to spend more time studying.

“Depending on if it’s a formative or a summative, I study for about 1-2 hours if it’s a formative, and 3-4 hours if it’s a summative,” Liberty said.

Having motivation and a drive to study is an essential part to actually retaining the information needed for a test. Spooner said that he studies in order to get good grades and to expand his knowledge. Liberty, a straight A student, shares what pursues her to study.

“I need a scholarship to get into college and I’m in all advanced classes so there’s a lot of homework,” Liberty said.

Testing time is an inevitable part of high school and being prepared for test taking is very important. Spooner gives advice to other students that may be unsure of how to go about their study process.

“Find intervals throughout the day where you can just study and try to study a few nights before a test,” Spooner said. “Really memorize it and get a feel of what you are doing the test on.”