The first weighted assessments of the year have just passed, and most students are looking forward to the one-week March break. But some of you may be entering the break with heavy hearts, knowing that you have not done well for the weighted assessments.
It’s normal to be disappointed or depressed after doing poorly for a test in school. You might feel all sorts of things, from anger to confusion, and sometimes, despair. More than stopping at these negative feelings, however, is how you choose to take your next steps. After all, this WA is only the first graded tests of the year. You still have chances to turn it around!
1. Allow yourself to be sad
Different people have different reactions to failing a test. You might have thought you knew your stuff, but still did poorly – you might feel a sense of unfairness or dissonance within yourself. You may have tried your hardest to study but still failed – you might feel like your effort is not worth it and believe that you are not smart enough.
These thoughts are human and instinctive. Allow yourself to process these emotions by journaling them or talking to someone about it. When you understand why you feel a certain way, it is easier for you to get over it and find ways to deal with it.
2. It’s not the end of the world
You can’t wallow in your negative feelings forever. You’ll know it is too much when your mental health suffers and it affects your ability to perform daily tasks.
Instead, take time to put things into perspective. The WA is only one test in the entire year, and you can’t go back to change it. Instead, focus on what you can do from now on to improve your results!
3. Pick yourself up
Practically, you can try doing something you enjoy to lift up your spirits. Treat yourself to your favourite food, hang out with your friends, or get out of the house to sweat it out with some exercise.
When you feel the joys of life, you will feel like one setback is just one part of your journey – it does not define you or your life.
4. Identify where you went wrong
After settling the emotional side of things, you can come back to seeing things objectively and calmly. We’re assuming that you don’t want to fail again in the next test, and you want to improve your results. To do that, you need to identify what caused the poor results, and find out ways to change it for the better.
Is it a lack of preparation and weak content knowledge? Or was it exam anxiety which caused you to blank out and perform poorly? Was it wrong answering technique and carelessness which caused you to lose marks? Once you know the reason, you can begin to tackle the root cause.
5. Get help
If you do the exact same things you have been doing, you will most likely get the exact same type of grades you have been getting. Many students who do badly in tests do not know how to change their way of studying to get better results!
Look for someone more experienced, like a senior in school to share their study tips with you, or engage a tutor who can dedicate time to advise you personally. Our Future Academy tutors are great examples, as we restrict our class sizes so we can commit more time to each student. With this system, our tutors have helped students improve their grades from F to A within months.
Conclusion
Failure and setbacks are a part of life, but it should never define you or be a reason to give up. Instead, think of it as an opportunity to learn more about yourself and your weaknesses, and finding ways to improve yourself.
At Future Academy, we can help you get back on track and impart effective study methods that will get you closer to your goals. Our experience as top tutors in Singapore have equipped us with the understanding of why students do poorly and common struggles they face. If we can help so many students through the likes of our IP Math tuition improve and reach their goals, it’s worth a try to see how we can help you.
If you’re thinking of doing some revision this holiday, here’s something that might help you! Download our FREE math practice pack today and reassess where you went wrong. You can also bring your workings to your tutor to clarify any concepts and doubts with them.
Enquire today to find out more about our hottest classes like IP English tuition and JC Physics tuition!