Using a School Agenda Can Lead to Better Grades

Jan 14, 2022 • Organization

Does your child use a school agenda or school planner? Using a school agenda every day–even on the weekend–can lead to not only improved organization, but also better grades.

Students encounter a lot of information throughout the school day. When students don’t properly manage the information they encounter, it can lead to information overload. Information overload happens when students are not able to process and manage the information they receive during the day which can lead to anxiety,

School agendas are an easy tool that all students can use to manage all the information they receive in a day.

Agendas Are Better Than Short-Term Memory

Imagine that the teacher assigned a reading right at the end of class after students have already packed up their books. How long will that student remember the reading assignment without writing it down? Studies show that short-term memory only holds information for between 15-30 seconds.

What’s a better way to remember this information longer? Writing it down in a school agenda! Writing by hand is shown to help students remember longer by activating more areas in the brain at once.

Great for keeping track of homework, readings, and other school assignments, using a school agenda regularly has many other great benefits for students.

Benefits of Using a School Agenda:

1. Reduces Stress. Staying on top of their workload can cause students stress. Having a place to write their assignments out can reduce the stress and worry about staying on top of their workload.
2. Increases Organization. Writing out tasks and checking and following a list helps students become more organized not only in their school work but in their everyday lives.
3. Managing Time. Using their agendas to keep track of study time for upcoming tests, students eliminate the need for cramming.
4. Better Grades. By tracking homework as it’s assigned, planning their study time, and not forgetting about upcoming tests or assignments, students get on track for better grades.

Tips to Use Agendas Effectively

While many schools provide agendas for their students, not every student uses their agenda effectively. Use these tips to ensure your child uses their agenda every day to reap the many benefits agendas can provide:

1. Bring the agenda to school every morning and to every class.
2. Write down any homework and assignments.
3. Bring the agenda home every night. Take it out of the schoolbag.
4. Complete all assigned work and readings, checking items off as they are complete.
5. After all work is done, be sure to put the agenda back in the schoobag.
6. Repeat every day.

With practice and repetition, using a school agenda can become a reliable part of your child’s school routine.