With spring break and summer around the corner, the stress of upcoming exams and the sheer excitement for summer flows through the schools like the air flows through the atmosphere. Many students have different opinions on their feelings about the fourth quarter.
The 4th quarter can be fascinating yet scary because of exams. But if students put in the right amount of studying and effort in class and outside of the school walls, exam season could be less stressful and easier to get through with good grades.
According to a Stanford researcher, in two studies, students who looked at the resource first did better. In the first study, students scored an average of 3.45 percentage points higher in the class, and in the second study, the average difference was 4.65 percentage points.
When asked how students here at Highlands, 57.1 percent of students stated that they had no opinion on the 4th quarter while 28.6% of students said that they felt great about the 4th quarter and 14.1% percent of students said that they didn’t feel good at all about the 4th quarter.
When asking students individually how they felt about the 4th quarter, junior Lianne Guttdauro said: “Going into the 4th quarter, I feel pretty confident about everything. Hopefully, I get exempt from the exams, but if I don’t that’s ok because I feel extremely confident due to my studying.”
Whether you feel completely confident going into this last push of the school year or couldn’t be less prepared, stress is a normal part of the high school experience. Dealing with stress can feel extremely overwhelming, but there are lots of ways to make it easier. Here are some of the best ways to get motivated to finish out the school year the right way by spending your time effectively and keeping your grades up:
Keep working toward your goals. There’s a good chance that at the start of the year, you set a goal for yourself. Maybe it is to achieve a certain grade point average or to get a certain grade on your exams. Remember what you’ve been working towards all year. Goals will look different for everybody, but only you know how to achieve them.
Staying organized and keeping track of your assignments and supplies can help manage your stress levels, especially with exams being right around the corner. Make sure you use folders to keep papers organized and take good notes in your notebook or Macbook.
Don’t procrastinate. Putting off assignments to the last minute only makes them more stressful. Whenever you have homework take advantage of class time or flex to get homework done. But with the changing flex schedule you may lose time during school to get work done, so make time to do your assignments when you get home.
Working on homework and staying completely focused is a lot easier said than done. Working for 20 minutes and relaxing for 20 minutes is a great way to use time effectively and make sure you get work done.
Taking breaks from schoolwork can improve productivity, attentiveness, energy, and mood. Breaks are crucial to function properly. They let you reset and then return to your task with a fresh mindset. Take advantage of the nice weather to take a break from your computer.
Focus on the finish line, the end of the school year is so close. Stay focused and use the right strategies to ensure success. The 4th quarter is the hardest time to get work done. With summer right around the corner, the idea of not having to go to school for 3 months makes it hard to focus. Stay consistent with your schoolwork and continue to work towards the goals you set at the start of the year.