Coping with a bad grade

Content

Steps
Part 1 of 3: Keep Calm
Part 2 of 3: Seeking Help to Improve the Situation
Part 3 of 3: Success on the next test
Tips
Warnings
What do you need

This happens to everyone. The teacher gives you back a test or a task with which you thought you coped perfectly well, and then your heart falls into your stomach. You have a bad mark, not even average. One question after another floods your mind. How can you improve your academic performance? What will the parents say? What will be the grade now at the end of the year? To get back on track and avoid this mistake in the future, you need to know how to act correctly in this situation. Start at step 1 of this guide to learn how to cope with a bad grade.

Steps

Part 1 of 3: Keep Calm

1 Let the panic pass quickly. When we get a bad grade, we panic (unless it's a habit for you). It seems to us that we have lost our mind, attention, our talent and strength. But this is not how things are in general. Each of us can stumble. In fact, the mistakes we make in our lives make us the people we are, they teach us to correct and achieve better results next time.
- Don't panic, because panic is stressful, and stress is not something that contributes to good grades. One recent study found that students who are nervous about important exams score lower than those who remain calm.
2 Remind yourself that one bad grade won't ruin your entire academic career. An academic career consists of many different tests and assignments, not just the assignments and presentations you do in class. It depends on the relationship you build with your teachers; from the influence that you have on your friends; and most importantly - from what you are learn to... Judging the success of your academic career by one measure is like judging the success of a party by one guest arriving. Such judgments are far from accurate.
3 Just in case, make sure to go back to the test and recount your points. Make sure your instructor doesn't make a mistake when calculating your points or summing up your final grade. Remember, even math teachers make math mistakes!
- If you do find an error, check again and then take the time to speak with your instructor. Instead of focusing on the mistake - "You got it wrong on my test, quickly change my grade!" - try to show more understanding. Remember that honey will attract more bees than vinegar. Try something like this: "I noticed that it is not counted here, or am I missing something?"
4 Carefully find out what grades your classmates received. You probably won't get very upset if you got a “3” or “3 -” when everyone else also got a “C”, because that means that you got a grade within the normal range. However, be careful about asking others' ratings - they may not want to share with you or want to know your score in return.
- If your teacher proportionally underestimated all the grades, then your result will be looked at taking into account the grades of all the others. Thus, if “4 -” is the maximum score on the test, then it becomes “five”, and “three” becomes “four”.

Part 2 of 3: Seeking Help to Improve the Situation

1 Talk to your teacher about possible ways to improve the situation. Teachers love it when students who get a bad grade show a willingness to learn and improve. This makes teachers feel successful, doing the right thing, a good thing. Therefore, if you go up to your teacher and say something like "Hello, Yulia Sergeevna, I didn’t like how I showed myself on the test. Can I somehow forget about it and work on how to write a better next work?" , your teacher will simply pass out with satisfaction.
- Even if it is difficult for you, there are many good things you can learn from meeting your teacher:
  - The instructor will explain to you the problems you got wrong and the ideas you didn’t figure out.
  - The instructor will see that you want to learn and can take this into account in your final grade.
  - Your instructor may give you an assignment for extra points.
2 Ask for help from students who performed better on the test. Helping others is a pleasure, and this is why many students who have written well, help those who have done worse. Just make sure you really spend your time studying and working, not joking and chatting. And try to choose someone whom you do not consider very attractive, and for whom you have no secret sympathy - we all know what "study" will be like when we are in the same room with a handsome guy or a beautiful girl.
3 Consider telling your parents about the bad grade. While you may not want to, talking to your parents about this is still a very good idea. Your parents are worried about your progress. That's why they care about your bad grades - not because they want to make you uncomfortable. Keeping this in mind will make it easier for you to open up to them and hopefully get the help and support you need.
- Your parents can sit down and explain to you where you made a mistake; they can hire a tutor to help you with your studies; they may also make an appointment with your instructor (although it is unusual to do so after one bad grade) to see how you can improve your grades.

Part 3 of 3: Success on the next test

1 Practice effectively, not necessarily for long. Many people think that learning right means learning for a long time. This is not always true. Purposeful learning with enthusiasm often trumps long hours of monotonous work.
2 Write your notes and notes by hand, not on a computer or laptop. Research has shown that writing with pen on paper improves your memory, as opposed to just typing on a computer. This is due to the fact that writing letters and numbers activates parts of the brain that are responsible for motor memory. Improving motor memory means improving memory in general and remembering the information you write down.
3 Take a break from time to time to refresh your memory. 10-minute breaks once an hour help in memorizing and mastering the material. You can spend one-sixth of an hour walking, playing with the dog, or calling your friend and empathizing with him before returning to school.
4 Do a practice test before the actual test. Practice tests are a great solution if you can get your hands on them. They give you a good idea of the problem area of your knowledge and what you need to work on more. Practice is the path to perfect results.
5 Try not to cram. If you can do without cramming, it's best to skip it. It is exhausting, impairs your understanding of the material and sometimes reduces your self-confidence.
6 Get a good night's sleep before the test. Studies have shown that every hour of sleep lost increases stress levels by 14%. This doesn't seem like much of a problem until you see how stress affects your academic performance. So get a good night's sleep at least a few nights before your important test to give your body the best chance of success.
7 Have a good breakfast in the morning before the test. Your brain and your body require fuel to do well on a test. So a great breakfast is an important priority not to be overlooked. Try unsweetened cereals, whole grain pastries, yoghurts and muesli, oatmeal and fresh fruit to give your body the energy it needs for great results.

Tips

Try, try and try again.The main difference between a good student and a bad student is that one will learn from his mistakes, while the other will simply give up. DO NOT GIVE UP! We all have failures; either way, a “good” student will not let failure get the best of him.
Think of it as a learning experience. One day, you will tell your children how to deal with these situations!
If you are feeling very upset or annoyed, think about your high scores on other tests that you got in the past.
If you got a really bad grade and you need your parents to sign for it, don't look for far-fetched excuses and don't ask someone else to sign - you may end up in an even more embarrassing situation.