High school students spend about five hours each week studying after school.
At Highlands High School, on average, the students spend around three hours studying, slightly below the average across the country, but still a large amount.
There are some tactics that are commonly used to study, such as flashcards, quizzing with peers, looking over study guides, and more. These methods are useful for memorizing materials but they do not work for everyone. Some uncommon study skills are listening to music or white noise, writing in the air, color coding, or studying while moving. These are not popular study skills, but all are proven to help students memorize their materials.
According to an article from the Department of Psychology, the most effective study method is called “distributed practice” where one would study and revisit the same materials 2-3 days later.
Hannah Smith (9) said she studies for around 5 hours a week, which is above average for the students at Highlands. When Smith studies, she uses something called the “Pomodoro method,” where she spends 25 minutes working, followed by a 5-minute break, then repeats this process four more times. Then, she takes a long break before working again.
“I listen to music while I do this method and it definitely helps. When I’m taking a test I remember what song I was listening to while studying and it helps me remember the material way better, that’s why instead of listening to classical music or music without words I listen to songs I really like so I can remember it better,” Smith said.
While listening to music is recommended, usually, students are told to listen to music without words, so they are not distracted. However, a large number of students stated that popular music with words helps them more.
Dalton Howard (12) said when he studies he fills out and goes over the study guides that his teachers provide for him.
“I usually just fill out the study guides I get from a test and make an occasional note card if I’m struggling with a specific topic,” Howard said.
Students at Highlands and across the country all have different ways of studying, which may be as simple as looking over study guides to more in depth methods.
