Why did I struggle so much in high school?

[randomranger900]

In high school, I mostly got Bs and Cs despite studying hard. I went to every class, took notes, did all the homework, participated in every discussion, asked questions, went to tutoring, did a lot of problems in the textbook, and more. Despite all of that, I still always bombed exams and could only get 50-60%. I struggled in every subject. It doesn't matter if it was math, physics, chem, history, or literature. No matter what I did, I just couldn't succeed academically. It's so depressing when you see peers who get straight As in AP courses while also having plenty of time for extracurriculars like robotics, debate, sports, student government, etc. I just don't know what is wrong with me. The past is the past, and I can't change anything about my K-12 education anymore. So what should I have done differently?

 

[WWGD]

Did you take care of the basics, healthy diet, exercise, enough free time to relax? Are you aware of any disability you may have?

 

[randomranger900]

Did you take care of the basics, healthy diet, exercise, enough free time to relax? Are you aware of any disability you may have?

I eat healthy and sleep 8 hours per day. I was tested for learning disabilities, but the psychologist couldn't find anything.

 

[WWGD]

Have you asked the Psychologist their opinion?

 

[randomranger900]

Have you asked the Psychologist their opinion?

They just said I wasn't smart enough and that not everyone is suitable for academics, which wasn't encouraging for me

 

[Rye1]

You have to practice with mock exams. Time yourself and make sure you actually try to imitate an actual exam. Most of my students getting bad results experience blank-page syndrome. If you do well in mock exams there is no reason to not do well in real exams. If you do bad on mock exams then there is no grade involved and you can iterate much more easily.
In my case it just took me forever to gain intuition on physics problems and actually understanding the core methods and concepts. It never really got easier... but my grades improved a lot after I got the basics right.

 

[randomranger900]

You have to practice with mock exams. Time yourself and make sure you actually try to imitate an actual exam. Most of my students getting bad results experience blank-page syndrome. If you do well in mock exams there is no reason to not do well in real exams. If you do bad on mock exams then there is no grade involved and you can iterate much more easily.
In my case it just took me forever to gain intuition on physics problems and actually understanding the core methods and concepts. It never really got easier... but my grades improved a lot after I got the basics right.

Ok, that doesn't help with history or literature

 

[Dale]

Ok, that doesn't help with history or literature

Why not? Why wouldn’t taking practice exams help in history or literature?

They just said I wasn't smart enough and that not everyone is suitable for academics, which wasn't encouraging for me

While that is possible, test taking is also a skill that can be learned. So if you understand the material and just literally struggle to demonstrate on tests, then that could be addressed.

If you didn’t understand the material even after putting in the work then that would be different.

 

[WWGD]

In high school, I mostly got Bs and Cs despite studying hard. I went to every class, took notes, did all the homework, participated in every discussion, asked questions, went to tutoring, did a lot of problems in the textbook, and more. Despite all of that, I still always bombed exams and could only get 50-60%. I struggled in every subject. It doesn't matter if it was math, physics, chem, history, or literature. No matter what I did, I just couldn't succeed academically. It's so depressing when you see peers who get straight As in AP courses while also having plenty of time for extracurriculars like robotics, debate, sports, student government, etc. I just don't know what is wrong with me. The past is the past, and I can't change anything about my K-12 education anymore. So what should I have done differently?

A question. If I may, you don't have to answer, obviously: Are you doing Ok today?

 

[PeroK]

In high school, I mostly got Bs and Cs despite studying hard. I went to every class, took notes, did all the homework, participated in every discussion, asked questions, went to tutoring, did a lot of problems in the textbook, and more. Despite all of that, I still always bombed exams and could only get 50-60%. I struggled in every subject. It doesn't matter if it was math, physics, chem, history, or literature. No matter what I did, I just couldn't succeed academically. It's so depressing when you see peers who get straight As in AP courses while also having plenty of time for extracurriculars like robotics, debate, sports, student government, etc. I just don't know what is wrong with me. The past is the past, and I can't change anything about my K-12 education anymore. So what should I have done differently?

Not everyone is suited to academic learning. You may not have done anything wrong. Just struggled with something you find hard.

Some people are naturally sporting, musical, artistic or good at chess. We don't expect everyone to do all these things.

It's true that getting good grades is generally more important than playing the piano. But, perhaps that's a misjudgement on society's part. In the UK, we are starting to regret trying to force everyone down the academic route - with endless, worthless University degrees - and neglecting vocational skills.

 

[CrysPhys]

In high school, I mostly got Bs and Cs despite studying hard. I went to every class, took notes, did all the homework, participated in every discussion, asked questions, went to tutoring, did a lot of problems in the textbook, and more. Despite all of that, I still always bombed exams and could only get 50-60%. I struggled in every subject. It doesn't matter if it was math, physics, chem, history, or literature. No matter what I did, I just couldn't succeed academically.

But you didn't say how well you understood the material beyond the test scores. It's a different situation if you did well with homework, classroom discussions, tutoring sessions, ... but bombed the exams than if you struggled with the material overall. So which was it?

The past is the past, and I can't change anything about my K-12 education anymore. So what should I have done differently?

The obvious answer was that you (or your parents) should have addressed the issues much earlier. But what is the point of your question now? When did you graduate high school? Are you now taking, or planning to take, post-high-school courses of some sort?

Otherwise, I do agree with the previous post:

Not everyone is suited to academic learning. You may not have done anything wrong. Just struggled with something you find hard.

Some people are naturally sporting, musical, artistic or good at chess. We don't expect everyone to do all these things.

What do you do well (outside of school)? What job options can you pursue?

 

[randomranger900]

But you didn't say how well you understood the material beyond the test scores. It's a different situation if you did well with homework, classroom discussions, tutoring sessions, ... but bombed the exams than if you struggled with the material overall. So which was it?



The obvious answer was that you (or your parents) should have addressed the issues much earlier. But what is the point of your question now? When did you graduate high school? Are you now taking, or planning to take, post-high-school courses of some sort?

Otherwise, I do agree with the previous post:



What do you do well (outside of school)? What job options can you pursue?

1. I didn't understand the material all that well. I couldn't grasp it no matter what I did.
2. I graduated high school in 2020.
3. I did nothing outside of school because I studied all day, so I don't know what options I have. I am just a technician now.

 

[randomranger900]

Not everyone is suited to academic learning. You may not have done anything wrong. Just struggled with something you find hard.

Some people are naturally sporting, musical, artistic or good at chess. We don't expect everyone to do all these things.

It's true that getting good grades is generally more important than playing the piano. But, perhaps that's a misjudgement on society's part. In the UK, we are starting to regret trying to force everyone down the academic route - with endless, worthless University degrees - and neglecting vocational skills.

Well people say the most important thing to focus on growing up is academics, so it hurts when you did poorly academically

 

[Dale]

I did nothing outside of school because I studied all day, so I don't know what options I have. I am just a technician now.

There is nothing wrong with being a technician. But the fact that you said "just a technician" indicates that you probably want something different.

When I was young I wanted to be a surgeon. I am physically incapable of being a surgeon because of shaky hands. So now I am a teacher and I absolutely love it.

Everyone has physical, social, mental limitations. Find things that you can do within those limitations. Think about what you want, and more importantly why you want it. Then think about things that will give you a good solid career that are not in the "what you want" category but fulfill the "why you want it".

And then start working towards those. Lots of careers have certificate programs to get started, and many have apprenticeship type models.

Frankly, back when I was a hiring manager I would choose a "smart enough hard worker" over a "lazy genius" any day. So you are already in a good spot in that regard.

 

[berkeman]

Frankly, back when I was a hiring manager I would choose a "smart enough hard worker" over a "lazy genius" any day.

Back in undergrad when I was talking with a senior HP engineering recruiter, he said he was looking for "goal-oriented achievers". That phrase and concept has stuck with me all these years, both in the way I approach my work, and in what I look for when I'm interviewing prospects.

 

[mathwonk]

Here is another suggestion. We may learn history or math from a history or math book, but we learn how to think about something from interacting with, i.e. questioning or discussing with, someone who thinks about it more effectively, or insightfully. Just sitting alone in a room with a book all day, is less helpful in my opinion than studying and talking with someone who seems to understand the topic better than we do. So I advocate hanging out with, listening to and learning from, people who seem to understand and navigate a subject better than we ourselves are able to. That's how one learns how to learn, from someone who already knows how, not from a book.

I would also encourage you that you apparently were not a failure in high school at all. Unless your school just gave away inflated grades wholesale, getting C's and B's places you above average. But to go from a B to an A, sometimes it helps to discuss with that person who is already getting A's. I assume the same applies where you are now, in improving your work skills. Good luck.

 

[symbolipoint]

In high school, I mostly got Bs and Cs despite studying hard. I went to every class, took notes, did all the homework, participated in every discussion, asked questions, went to tutoring, did a lot of problems in the textbook, and more. Despite all of that, I still always bombed exams and could only get 50-60%. I struggled in every subject. It doesn't matter if it was math, physics, chem, history, or literature. No matter what I did, I just couldn't succeed academically. It's so depressing when you see peers who get straight As in AP courses while also having plenty of time for extracurriculars like robotics, debate, sports, student government, etc. I just don't know what is wrong with me. The past is the past, and I can't change anything about my K-12 education anymore. So what should I have done differently?

B's and C's does not seem like trouble, so your educators very likely suspected nothing involving Dyslexia nor Dyscalculia or anything to refer to any Special Education needs. How have you done or been doing in courses which you repeated AFTER finishing highschool? Better? Mostly A and B grades? One would commonly expect to learn and perform better upon repeated study.

 

[symbolipoint]

They just said I wasn't smart enough and that not everyone is suitable for academics, which wasn't encouraging for me

Be careful of that. If you are interested, then you study! Your level of intelligence mostly has far less meaning than interest and effort.

 

[pinball1970]

I am just a technician now.

Ouch. On behalf of my people!

Not everyone can be a scientist as the members have pointed out.
You can be a good technician though, you can be a great one in fact and your expertise could be recognised, take a step up to where ever that may be.

 

[symbolipoint]

Some reminder about repeating courses. You go through a certain set of courses in high school and maybe you earn anything ranging from D's to B's. The material was new to you. If repeating those same courses in University or Community College, then expect C's no less; or mostly B's and A's. Little thing to do though is study hard and as thoroughly as you can.

 

[randomranger900]

Be careful of that. If you are interested, then you study! Your level of intelligence mostly has far less meaning than interest and effort.

Well intelligence does matter. Most college professors easily got straight As in high school and undergrad. Professors struggle to give study advice because they genuinely didn't need to study growing up.

 

[berkeman]

Well intelligence does matter. Most college professors easily got straight As in high school and undergrad. Professors struggle to give study advice because they genuinely didn't need to study growing up.

Not necessarily true. Read my Mentor Biography, linked to in my Profile. I did not go the Professor route, but if I'd chosen Physics over Electrical Engineering, that was definitely on the table.

And you say that you are now a technician, but would like to have a job and education that are farther up the educational food chain. Did you take classes like wood shop and auto shop in high school? Did you take any other classes in high school that were aimed at careers in the trades? Did you ever help your parents with repairs around your house like plumbing, electrical, construction, etc? What type of technician are you currently?

 

[symbolipoint]

Well intelligence does matter. Most college professors easily got straight As in high school and undergrad. Professors struggle to give study advice because they genuinely didn't need to study growing up.

So you believe your professors were highly intelligent, and you became a Technician. But how good are your professors as Technicians? Maybe, just maybe you are equal to or better than some of your professors as Technicians. Possibly, even without trying to compare to your professors, you are a smart or intelligent technician!

 

[symbolipoint]

A look JUST at the title of this topic, since it is written as a question:

Why did I struggle so much in high school?​

You struggled so much because a very large portion of what you were learning was NEW, and being so unfamiliar, required extensive long time to study, and meant you needed to review both your class notes and the textbooks sections several times.

 

[randomranger900]

It says a lot about the education system that we spend billions and billions of dollars on it each year, yet we don't even know how some students succeed while others don't

 

[AlexB23]

In high school, I mostly got Bs and Cs despite studying hard. I went to every class, took notes, did all the homework, participated in every discussion, asked questions, went to tutoring, did a lot of problems in the textbook, and more. Despite all of that, I still always bombed exams and could only get 50-60%. I struggled in every subject. It doesn't matter if it was math, physics, chem, history, or literature. No matter what I did, I just couldn't succeed academically. It's so depressing when you see peers who get straight As in AP courses while also having plenty of time for extracurriculars like robotics, debate, sports, student government, etc. I just don't know what is wrong with me. The past is the past, and I can't change anything about my K-12 education anymore. So what should I have done differently?

It depends on your teachers as well. Some do not teach very well. If you have a bad teacher, you will have a harder time learning.

 

[CrysPhys]

What do you do well (outside of school)? What job options can you pursue?

3. I did nothing outside of school because I studied all day, so I don't know what options I have. I am just a technician now.

And you say that you are now a technician, but would like to have a job and education that are farther up the educational food chain. Did you take classes like wood shop and auto shop in high school? Did you take any other classes in high school that were aimed at careers in the trades? Did you ever help your parents with repairs around your house like plumbing, electrical, construction, etc? What type of technician are you currently?

@randomranger900 . There are a number of issues to clear up. But a key one is, "How well do you learn to do things outside of a structured classroom environment?" Did you truly do nothing outside of school? In addition to the specific trade-related questions asked by @berkeman above, what about random other activities; e.g., sports, music, dance, cooking, arts & crafts ...? And, yes, what tasks are you performing as a technician, and how did you learn to do those tasks?

 

[osilmag]

It says a lot about the education system that we spend billions and billions of dollars on it each year, yet we don't even know how some students succeed while others don't

The education system in the US is actually closer to going broke. . Not enough money is being spent.

The classroom environment and the teacher's methods have a part in that. Along with the comprehension ability of the student.

Reading this thread, it seems to me that you specifically experienced test anxiety which the teacher could have alleviated with a more suitable environment for you.

 

[Mayhem]

They just said I wasn't smart enough and that not everyone is suitable for academics, which wasn't encouraging for me

This can be true.
Some people won't thrive in academia as a whole for the same reason I wouldn't thrive in pure maths research.
There are levels to cognitive abilities, and we have no trouble recognizing the top and bottom, but there is hesitation to acknowledge nuances in intrinsic skill in the normal range.

 

[CrysPhys]

Reading this thread, it seems to me that you specifically experienced test anxiety which the teacher could have alleviated with a more suitable environment for you.

I already asked the OP whether the main issue was test anxiety. The OP indicated that it was not:

I went to every class, took notes, did all the homework, participated in every discussion, asked questions, went to tutoring, did a lot of problems in the textbook, and more. Despite all of that, I still always bombed exams and could only get 50-60%.

But you didn't say how well you understood the material beyond the test scores. It's a different situation if you did well with homework, classroom discussions, tutoring sessions, ... but bombed the exams than if you struggled with the material overall. So which was it?

1. I didn't understand the material all that well. I couldn't grasp it no matter what I did.