High school is an exciting time for many students—but also a critical time when it comes to determining their futures. For many high school students, it can be hard to stay focused on school, especially when it comes to studying in their own time to prepare for tests and really retain the information they are being taught.
For some students and parents, it can be easiest to start by breaking down the high school study skills the student will need to acquire. In this article, we’ll break down the top ten study skills for high school students and why they matter in the classroom and beyond.
Importance of Building a High School Study Routine
Should a high school student focus on learning about study skills when they also have SATs, ACTs, college applications, extracurricular activities, and more to worry about? The short answer is: yes.
Study skills are often overlooked, since a study skills curriculum is not typically included in many academic journeys. Many teachers assume that students have already learned the basics of good study habits by the time they get to their classroom, but the problem is that every teacher expects the students to be taught by the teacher before them.
Study skills allow students to become better learners, improving their engagement with the course material and overall understanding of the subject. Additionally, students who learn strong study skills in high school will be better prepared for the academic pressure of college, increasing their chances of success in their future endeavors both in and outside of the classroom.
These study skills connect closely with executive function, which are the cognitive processes that allow students to plan, prioritize, and complete tasks. Students who improve their study skills will likely see their executive functions improve as well, as well as the opposite effect. After high school and college, these skills can be applied to jobs and other activities, resulting in improved overall cognitive processes.
10 Important Study Skills for High School Students
Let’s dig into the ten most important high school study skills that students should practice.
1. Time Management
Time management is not just a study skill for high school students but also an essential executive function for day-to-day life. Time management refers to the cognitive skill allowing students to understand their available time and plan ahead in order to utilize it properly.
When it comes to studying, proper time management can allow students to know when to start studying for a big test or begin working on a project, and then they can properly allocate the right time for studying. When students don’t have strong time management skills, they can quickly fall behind and their outstanding work can compound, resulting in anxiety that goes beyond the classroom.
2. Flexible Thinking
Another essential study skill for high school students is flexible thinking. Flexible thinking is the ability to shift gears and look at a situation or problem from a different perspective, as opposed to having rigid expectations and getting “stuck” when something unexpected happens.
PBS Kids for Parents explains, “Weak flexible thinking skills can negatively affect academic development.” In particular, students have to use flexible thinking when it comes to skills like reading and writing, which require students to look beyond the practical or literal meaning of a text or question. Additionally, flexible thinking helps students overcome adversity and thrive in all types of social situations, both in high school and after high school.
3. Practical Goal Setting
For high school students, goal setting is a pivotal part of classroom performance and self-regulation, leading to academic independence when implemented practically and effectively. With the proper goals in place, high school students can envision their path to those goals and an overall journey for themselves in their academic endeavors.
Goal setting is helpful for all types of students, including those who are struggling. Struggling students can begin to feel better about their progress and accomplishments when they are able to frame their experience through practical goals. After high school, students will certainly need goal setting skills in order to succeed in college and careers, as they no longer have the amount of oversight and support that they have in high school.
4. Organizational Skills
There are many stereotypes about the disorganized student, but what really matters is how organization can help high school students be better at studying and other academic assignments. Effective organization skills can help high school students self-manage their workload and extracurricular activities, as well as keep an organized room, desk, and other spaces.
When students find the right organizational system in high school, they can grow with that system, building good habits and aligning the organization system with their study skills and strategies. If your student doesn’t know where to start, consider getting them an executive function planner, which is specifically designed to help students better manage their workload and build healthy study practices.
5. Prioritization
When faced with a stack of homework or studying to complete, students need to sort through and decide what should be completed first. This study skill, called prioritization, can be hard to master, particularly because it’s not explicitly taught to students in high school or other grades.
Prioritization is essential, though, especially as high school students take more disconnected classes where all teachers have expectations for their work to be prioritized. When high school students gain the study skill of prioritization, they can balance in their minds what is most essential for them to tackle first and what can wait until a later time. This study skill translates well to college and later careers.
6. Habit Building
When students build great habits around studying, they are less likely to slip into bad habits like procrastination or time mismanagement. Students should learn about habit loops, which explain the pattern of teaching your brain about a cue, routine, and reward to build a habit.
By building healthy habits regarding studying, high school students can better manage not just their school assignments but their time and workload at large. Healthy habits alleviate anxiety and give students something positive to work toward rather than the negative emotions associated with failing to study well.
7. Efficient Note-Taking
Comprehensive, thoughtful notes are essential for successful study sessions, yet many high school students lack basic note-taking skills. High school students should practice taking notes in different formats, reviewing what they missed and what they could have left out of their notes.
In high school, students should also take the time to learn what kind of notes work best for them. For some students, taking a more creative approach to structuring and detailing their notes will make them more engaged with the material, while that will just be a distraction for other students.
8. Using Study Tools
Today high school students have access to a plethora of study tools, from traditional notecards to digital platforms that allow them to test their knowledge. One essential study skill is knowing when and how to use the right study tools for their needs. This brings together a fluency in technology and other study strategies as well as self-management skills to envision what work needs to be done and connect that to the proper study tools.
9. Test Preparation
There are many strategies that can go into successful test preparation, pulling from different study skills depending on the subject and test type. Proper test preparation means creating a study plan that covers the appropriate material and instills a sense of confidence in the student, allowing them to approach the test with limited anxiety.
Like other study skills, proper test preparation takes practice. Unfortunately, many fail to prioritize their studying (see Study Skill #5!) and end up cramming the night before the exam. This approach is the opposite of a healthy study strategy and makes it unlikely for the student to retain the material past the exam. Students should get into the practice of preparing for tests properly in high school so they are ready to tackle the pressures of college exams.
10. Self-Care
I know what you’re thinking—self-care isn’t a study skill! However, mental health can hugely affect not only academic performance but also basic study skills. Thus, it’s important for students to know how to practice self-care and identify when they need to be kinder to themselves. Self-care allows students to decompress and re-center themselves.
Many high school students place immense pressure on themselves to perform well, which compounds with expectations from parents, applications for college, and demands of part-time jobs and extracurricular activities. If students aren’t taking the time to practice self-care, their study skills can begin to take a dip due to the stress. Self-care should be taught and prioritized to prevent high school students from experiencing burnout.
Why Study Skills Matter for College Readiness
High school is a crucial time for students who plan to go on to higher education, and not just when it comes to grades. College readiness refers to the independence and competence students need to enroll in college and succeed. Many high school students rely heavily on their schools and families for crucial aspects of their success, and those pillars of support will not be present in the same way once they move on to college.
When high school students develop their study skills, they develop their ability to independently succeed in an academic environment. Their high school study skills can translate well to their college courses.
Develop High School Study Skills with Effective Students
At Effective Students, we know how important it is for high school students to develop their study skills. That’s why we created engaging, innovative programs that deliver real results and build confidence. While our one-on-one coaching sessions are our top recommendation for building study skills, we also have the Effective Student™ course, which teaches some of the essential skills our coaches teach in an accessible format.
If you’re ready to find the right option for you and your student, contact our team to learn more.
