How can you support your Year 12 student during their final exams?

Year 12 students are less than two months away from sitting their final exams. We know this can be a stressful time for students.

How can parents best help their children navigate exam season? Research suggests “autonomy-supportive parenting” is key. This involves including teens in reasoning and decision-making about their lives.

Understanding the brain and learning

When it comes to studying, it is helpful to know how the brain works.

One common misconception is multitasking can help students do more in less time. In fact, this can drain our capacity to pay attention. You may think you are multitasking but what you are really doing is switching from one task to the next. Each switch has a “cost” for performance, in that it slows you down.

To combat this, try and get your student to focus on one thing at a time – helped by a calm, quiet study environment.

A second misconception is studying according to one’s “learning style” (for example, as a visual, auditory or kinesthetic learner) will promote better learning.

But these learning styles have been shown to be a a myth. If students study using only one mode – such as via videos for those who believe themselves to be visual learners – they are likely to harm their own learning. This is because they will limit their access to the most relevant study resources (those that best present the knowledge).

Parents can help their teens prepare for exams by focusing on the content rather than the mode of delivery.

Sleep is so important

Sleep is an important component of study and exam preparation.

This is because sleep is crucial for “memory consolidation”, where newly laid memory pathways are strengthened and reinforced. Sleep deprivation interrupts this consolidation process and hinders learning the next day. It means there is less activation in parts of the brain involved with memory, self-regulation and attention.

Research shows up to half of Australian teenagers do not get enough sleep, with common disruptors including screen time, studying and socialising. In the lead-up to Year 12 exams, the temptation to stay up late to study – perhaps buoyed by energy drinks – may be particularly strong.

Parents can help their teens by working out a consistent sleep schedule together. They can also help their teens understand the connection between sleep and learning and the importance of reducing screen time before bed.

Maximising study quality

The nature of Year 12 exams means students must study for multiple subjects at the same time.

This means the quality of study is especially important. Students should select study strategies that actively support memory and learning.

Many students report using less effective strategies, such as rereading and highlighting. These strategies are passive, meaning the brain does not need to do anything with the content.

Active strategies, such as doing practice tests (a version of “retrieval practice”), are effective because they require the brain to actively draw knowledge from long-term memory. The relevant knowledge must then be arranged into a response. This strengthens the memory pathway and the knowledge becomes easier to recall in future.

You can help your teen to study by encouraging different types of retrieval practice. This can include practice tests, but can also mean asking them to explain new concepts or to put arguments into their own words.

You could also encourage your teen to design a study schedule that includes a little of each subject, multiple times per week, rather than cramming on the final day.

While teens may be inclined to cram before the exam, studies have shown stronger learning outcomes when the same amount of study is spread out over a longer period. This pattern, called “spaced learning”, gives the brain more opportunities to retrieve the relevant knowledge from memory.

A useful amount of stress?

Stress has a “curvilinear” relationship with performance (sometimes known as the Yerkes-Dodson bell curve).

A little bit of stress is useful at exam time because it motivates study. But too much stress can impair students’ performance by inhibiting learning pathways and brain function.

Up to one in four Australian teens experience clinical levels of stress and anxiety in the lead-up to final-year exams. Perfectionism, female gender and parental pressure are risk factors.

When the consequences of not doing well are emphasised (“if you fail your exams you won’t get a good job”), it’s not helpful for teens. It is important to keep things in perspective.

The Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) has long been the primary selection tool used by universities, yet many also offer early entry places and alternative entry pathways. This means students who do not achieve the ATAR they were expecting still have plenty of opportunities to pursue their chosen career.

Parents can support their teens by talking with them about taking time to connect with friends and family, emphasising the importance of calm and consistent study, and by not catastrophising about their teen’s future. Parents who stay calm about exams will have teens who are more likely to do the same.

Read more: Unsure what to study next year? 6 things to consider as you make up your mind