Marathon study session

With midterms now just days away, it would have been ideal to begin studying days or even weeks in advance. But the reality is that most high school students will attempt to cram months of learned material into their brains one or two nights before the day of any test or exam.

Cramming, otherwise known as a marathon study session, is anything but studying. When one studies, he or she gains knowledge- they learn. When one crams, he or she is simply memorizing. Jacob Quinn, a senior at Milford High School, realized himself that cramming is not beneficial to him at all, “That’s the thing about cramming. It’s just memorizing the material for the test to get a good grade, then forgetting it all within a couple of days.”

Defined as to study for an examination by memorizing facts at the last minute(dictionary.com), high school students often resort to cramming. The majority of the time, students cram because they push studying to the side because students feel the test date is further away, so they do not have to begin studying yet. Ciara Charlick, a senior at Milford High School, describes perfectly, “It’s in a week, I don’t have to worry about it yet,” leading to procrastination up until the night before the test.

Another common reason for cramming is being too busy. Quinn, is just one among many whose schedule leaves almost no time for free time. “I play hockey in the winter six days a week, baseball in the spring, and I work at the Hartland Sports Center. Throughout the week, I am either at practice or I have a game, and on the weekends, I either have a game or I am at work. My schedule leaves me with no study time at all, so I have to cram if I want to get decent grades on my tests.”

Every student has his or her own techniques when cramming, like creating acronyms, metaphors, rereading chapters and notes/ worksheets, or making connections between topics, but one’s brain can not retain all that information in one setting, let alone one night. Cramming results in too much stress being put on the brain, pushing it beyond its limits. Too much stress on the brain causes a sense of frustration, anxiety, and sometimes confusion. In some cases, cramming can backfire and cause one to forget everything he or she crammed the previous night. Because cramming is not an effective way of learning, students have to work harder the night before a test than they would if they began studying days before.

Some teachers give out the test date a week in advance, which is plenty of time to study, but the problem is that some students do not know how to study. Ms. Gleason, a science teacher at Milford High School, allows her students review days in class to better prepare them for a test. “ I give them time in class to study, so I can answer any questions they have,” stated Gleason. Paige Grass, a senior at Milford, developed a three-day study plan for herself: on day one, she reviews her notes and any important ideas; on day two, she completes any reviews or practice tests given by the teachers; and on day three, she asks any questions she has. This study plan allows her to process, understand, and learn the material for the test.

This study plan will not work for everyone, but it is best to develop one that works for you. Maybe it is to begin studying four days before the test for half an hour each day, and each day, you cover a different topic, or each day you write down a summary of important ideas as you read through the information. Just be sure to space out the study time(half an hour to forty-five minutes each day), remove yourself from any possible distractions, study in a quiet environment, and commit to learn the material.

By learning the material, one will not only gain knowledge, but he or she may even gain a better grade. “I would do better if I didn’t cram,” recalled Charlick, reflecting on her grades. When students cram, sometimes the grade they get reflects it. Students thrive to get good grades on tests, and do not show much care in how they earn that grade. Cheating on tests or exams occurs because students were not prepared, or because they want a better grade. When one crams, “they don’t know the material, so they are more inclined to cheat on tests,” claimed Quinn.

“Cramming affects your grades, but not directly,” Quinn later explained, “If you cram the day of a test during one of your classes, you are missing what is being learned during that class. And if you have a test in that class the next day, you’re out of luck because you weren’t paying attention on review day.”

To prevent cramming for future tests, Gleason stated, “ I suggest that students develop a study plan early on, stick to that plan and use it, and don’t cram because you won’t learn anything in doing so.”