Many students do not excel in school for a variety of reasons. Regardless of the reason, there seem to be a lot of simple actions that they can undertake that often have surprisingly positive impacts on their learning and through this, they can do well and secure better marks.

Below is a list of actions you can take to improve your standard. Simply reading this list is not enough, you must take action.

1. Make sure your life is not in chaos:- It is obviously not possible to do better in class if your life outside the class is in chaos. It may be due to family disturbances, personal relationships, wrong friend circle, excessive TV watching or game playing etc. If you have such major issues, then you should get rid of these immediately and study with proper interest in a calm atmosphere.

2. Take responsibility for your performance and try to improve it:- Don’t consider that your poor performance is because of  your ‘bad luck’. By proper and sincere study, you can overcome all unfortunate circumstances; ultimately it is up to you to make the best of the situation.  Improve your performance; it is up to you to take on this responsibility. Take full responsibility both for your performance, and for improving it.

3. Don’t ignore the warning signs:- If you do poorly in an exam or in a schoolwork or homework, then something is wrong with you. If you find yourself cramming the night before an exam, staying up all night doing school work, missing classes to complete home-work etc., this is your inability. If you wait too long to act on such signals, there will be little anyone can do (including yourself) to help. Don’t ignore such signals, but rather act on them immediately.

4. Get organized:- It is going to be hard to do well in a class, if you don’t plan for it. You must do all your class works and home works in time and be well prepared for exams. 

5. Plan ahead:- Once you get organized, begin to think ahead. Make proper planning, and study accordingly. 

6. Go to class:- You need to attend your classes  regularly. There is no excuse not to attend classes. It highlights the most important material, it presents this material in a way that is very conducive to learning, it allows you to clarify misunderstanding and keeps you up to date on changes in pattern.

7. Read ahead:-  Reading the required topic before it is discussed in class  gives you prior knowledge about the chapter, and will really help you understand what is going on in class.

8. Prepare good notes:- Having the right attitude when you take notes can really help you. You need to make valuable and qualitative notes of the major topics, and have sufficient material so that you can get good and extra data. 

9. Ask questions in class or just after class:- If you don’t understand something or even if a little doubt arises in your mind, ask a question about it as soon as possible. Asking questions can make you more confident. Don’t be shy, be smart and more enthusiastic.

10. Form a good study group:- Forming a study group can often help. In this group you can review what went on in class, talk about answers to old exam questions, homework problems etc.

11. Don’t ignore the subject or lesson you don’t like or do poorly on:- There is a tendency to ignore the  subject or topic  in which you are weak and  that is not liked. When you do poorly on something, spend some more time to figure out why, and go get help. When you feel comfortable with the subject or topic that you had trouble with, get into another subject.

12. Take advantage of the resources available to help you:- Typically there are a lot of resources available to help you do better.  Use the best reference books to improve your performance.

13. Get notes from another student if you miss class:- You should get to know some of the other students in class so that you can share notes if you missed class. It may also be useful to find study partners.

14. Take notes during class and then read them:- Classroom notes are more important than  textbook study or independent study. Preparing classroom notes make you sure that you understand everything clearly. If you don’t do so during study, understanding will surely not be there during an exam.

15. Read your textbook thoroughly:- Reading is a good human skill. It’s also a very valuable skill in the working place. Improve your reading skills and read the chapter thoroughly so that you can be a master.

16. Make best use of your time:- Time and tide waits for none. So make proper utilization of your valuable time so that you have not to repent after. Make the best utilization of your time keeping in mind that as a student studying is your primary business.