As students change and transition from freshman to senior year, so do their study habits. Students tend to focus more on their schoolwork as they get older. The change can be as simple as talking to teachers about assignments or managing time correctly. However, this small change can have a significant impact on a student’s academic performance, such as better grades, especially when comparing the study habits of freshmen to senior students, since freshmen tend to carry their middle school habits with them while they adjust to high school life.
Senior students create a more mature study environment for themselves. According to “The Learners’ Study Habits and Its Relation On Thier Academic Performance,” a research article by Jhoselle Tus, founder of the Innovative Scholars and Research Alliance, students who create set study patterns can boost their academic performance and create a better study environment for themselves when they focus on their future college career. These habits are what differentiate the study habits and academic performance of freshman and senior students.
Senior Angelina Aguero discovered that making to-do lists and writing in her agenda has helped her study more efficiently compared to her freshman year.
“I used to just kind of do everything last minute… But like, now I make to-do lists. I have an agenda. Especially with me joining AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination), it helped me be more, way more organized, and helped me be able to know what I’m actually going to be studying and having tutorial groups and stuff,” Aguero said.
Students become more responsible for their work as well. Based on the research article by Kigon Nam in the Economics of Education Review, Until when does the effect of age on academic achievement persist?, older high school students usually achieve a higher academic achievement than younger high school students because of a difference in mindset between the grades and a more mature learning environment.
Teachers also see a positive change in students’ study habits, for example, becoming more self-motivated or prioritizing their assignments. English teacher Theodore Moser said that as students progress through the years, they are more responsible with their work.
“Students usually become more self-motivated that they need less prompting to study something, take more responsibility for their learning and for their work and so forth,” Moser said.
A more mature way to study can help students have a better academic performance and influence the people around them to notice the change, which can then lead the students to have a better academic career altogether.
