If your child has difficulty studying, it may be because he doesn’t know where to begin. Ask the teacher to give him some extra instruction on how to take notes, identify important information, and prepare for tests. Ask her to share what studying strategies work for the material and your child’s learning style. Effective studying is a skill that develops with practice over time. Use your child’s test results as a way to gauge the effectiveness of his review methods. The results should tell you how well prepared he was and give you an idea of what you can help him change for next time.

Being a good student requires more than innate intelligence. Studying takes time, effort, organization, and self-discipline.

Before you even start reviewing with your child, make sure he is clear on what the test or quiz will cover. Also, find out the test format: Multiple choice, true/false, short answer, fill in the blank, or essay? Lower grade levels usually use short-answer or multiple-choice tests, which measure memorization and recognition skills. Higher grades usually test with essays, which measure a student’s ability to articulate analytical and critical responses to problems.

Your child should also review all of his homework for that unit, paying particular attention to any areas with which he struggled or which he did not understand the first time through. Go over these together to ensure he understands his mistakes, what underlying information he needs, and how to solve this type of problem if he encounters it again.

Flashcards are helpful for studying vocabulary words, important dates, or any information that needs to be matched to a person, event, or idea. Your child can shuffle them to make sure he learns each fact separately rather than just memorizing them in order. Index cards make excellent flashcards, and colored index cards are especially good for visual learners and students who need to organize or sort information.

Another great way to memorize definitions or fact lists is using folded study sheets. Fold a sheet of lined paper in half lengthwise. Your child can list words or ideas on the left side of the paper and the definitions or answers on the right side of the fold. By refolding the paper, he can test himself by looking at the left and seeing if he can recall the information on the right.

Teaching information to another person helps your child memorize, organize, and clarify it. Ask him to teach you what he has just learned or make up and answer test questions for himself.

Avoid over-studying: review facts frequently, but remember to end the session before your child becomes frustrated and tired.

Remember that cramming is not learning. Your child truly learns information through studying over a period of time, not the night before the test. Try to have short, frequent drill sessions. Set realistic goals for each session, such as ten out of fifteen vocabulary words each night.

To ensure your child’s studying is progressing, don’t review a new set of facts until he has completely memorized or grasped the previous information. It’s easier to absorb information in small chunks than to look over a number of things at once. Quiz your child, but not right after learning new information. You want to check long-term rather than short-term memory.

Study with your child right before bedtime. His brain keeps busy during sleep by organizing and reviewing information.