How to Stop Stressing About Exam Results

While we can’t argue that exam results in the later years of education are important for a student’s future, it isn’t the main concern. Without learning the proper techniques for study, coping with the pressure of exams, and planning their work, children will struggle to achieve those good results in the long term. Effective high school tutoring should build the confidence and skills necessary to achieve results throughout a child’s school life.

Here’s a list of 5 reasons you need to stop stressing about exam results.

Learning to Plan School Work Leads to Results

As kids move from primary school to high school, planning their work becomes so much more important. All of a sudden there’s essays to write, assignments to put together, and more complex maths work that all requires planning.

While students are often given examples of what a good finished product looks like, they don’t necessarily know how to get there. High school tutoring can help students learn how to plan out their written work, making it much easier to get started. Sometimes the hardest thing for a student is to take the first step. They can see where they want something to go, but don’t know where to start. Once they learn the skill of planning, they can attack their work with more confidence.

Consistent Improvement Means More Than A Test

Exams and tests can be a good measure of a student’s aptitude for certain subjects, but a bad mark doesn’t necessarily reflect a lack of effort. If you’ve identified your child is struggling in high school, it’s important to focus on the right things moving forward.

While they’re a necessary evil, tests and exams put a lot of pressure on students to get everything right in a limited time frame. A better aspect of their work to focus on is whether or not they’ve improved. High school tutoring can help to build a student’s confidence so they can start making real progress, and this should be the measure of success. Better test results will follow.

Measure Effort, Not Tests Results

Children aren’t perfect, and we shouldn’t expect them to be. As parents, what we can expect is to see consistent effort in their endeavors. That doesn’t mean they’ll ace every test or score great results on every assignment, but it shows they are giving their best.

Confidence can be knocked around pretty easily if students are put under too much pressure when it comes to test scores, and that can start a cycle of worsening academic performance. Whether your child is excelling in school or needs some extra help, it’s important to recognise the effort they are putting in. Celebrating effort builds motivation to continue working hard, but criticism of one test result can send a child backwards.

Focus on Study and Exam Techniques

If your child has had some bad results in tests, there’s no reason to panic. If they have some knowledge gaps that need filling, high school tutoring can help. But what do you do if they seem to have a good handle on the concepts being taught but can’t seem to get good test scores?

The answer is just the same. High school tutoring is a great way for kids to learn proper study techniques, and even get some tips on managing those exam day nerves. Once they feel confident in what they’ve studied and have the right processes in place for completing exams, the results should start to improve.

Confidence is the Key to Better Results

We say it so often, but confidence is invaluable when it comes to education. If kids aren’t confident to give things a go and make mistakes, it can be difficult to learn. Everybody learns from mistakes and it’s very normal. Don’t ruin a child’s confidence by chastising them over a poor test result.

Instead, focus on the positives and keep their confidence in tact. Students achieve so much more when they are confident to ask questions, make mistakes and learn from them.

At Big Improvements Tutoring we aim to provide a supportive, confidence-building environment to help children learn to enjoy study again. We aim to teach study skills, not just answers. If you think your child would benefit from positive, individualised primary school tutoring that focuses the skills they really need help with, click below to book a free session today!