Effort to Do Better Must Come from the Student

Last year, my son had a very difficult time when he entered high school. In middle school, he got A's without doing much studying. As a freshman, he never completed an assignment on time and always waited until the last minute to study for tests. As a result, he soon became a C student. How can I help him take a better approach to his studies this year? -- Slipping Grades
Answer: At this age, your son is going to have to want to work harder to do better in school. The effort is going to have to come from him. Last year, he probably was faced with a much harder curriculum and didn't realize that he had to study more or was simply unwilling to study more.
If your son's problems are truly a failure to study, there are several things that he can do at once to get on the right track academically. He should be studying for about one and a half hours every school night. This should usually be at the same time, whether or not he has assignments. Anytime he says that he has no homework, he should devote that time to reviewing for tests or doing additional assignments in a class that is causing him trouble. For example, if he has difficulty in geometry, he can do both the even and odd problems -- not just the even ones assigned by his math teacher. Study after study shows that doing homework really ties closely with achievement at the high-school level.
You probably will help your son most if you insist that he study regularly at home. The other thing you can do is see that he get some help with his study skills, if needed.