The High School Survival Guide... For Parents!

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The High School Survival Guide… For Parents! Page 2

Table of Contents

1. Develop the three key components of academic success:

organization, time-management, and study skills ........................................3

2. Begin with the end in mind. ........................................................................6

Know how to calculate a GPA – the way colleges do! ..................................7

Factoring in Honors course credit.................................................................7

Only the semester grades count toward cumulative GPA...............................9

3. Understand how semester exams factor in. ................................................ 10

4. Create an academic roadmap, otherwise known as a four-year

course plan.................................................................................................14

Sample Course Plan 1 (strong History/English) .............................................14

Sample Course Plan 2 (strong Math / Science) ............................................15

Sample Course Plan 3 (minimum high school requirements)..........................16

5. Extracurricular activities are not optional. ......................................................18

6. Get to know the SAT and ACT ahead of time. ..............................................20

What are the SAT and ACT?........................................................................20

When do students take these tests? ............................................................20

What is the difference between them?..........................................................20

How do we figure out which one to take? ....................................................22


1. Develop the three key components of academic

success: organization, time-management, and study skills

Over the past ten years, we have worked with thousands of high school

students with the primary goal of helping them reach their potential. Through this

experience, we have seen first hand how critical it is to have strong organization,

time-management and study skills. Regardless of innate ability, students who

naturally possess these abilities or those who work hard to develop them are much

more successful in the classroom. On the converse side, students who struggle in

these areas tend to have a very difficult time in high school, constantly feeling

overwhelmed and behind, and ultimately unmotivated to succeed academically

because they do not know how to.

There is not one single way to do any of these three core skills. That is the

tricky part; if students are not naturally gifted with these skill sets, it requires

creativity, a willingness to engage in trial and error, and a dedication to improving.

We see these skills as the support structure that helps ensure students reach their

academic goals. First they need to have ownership over what they want to achieve.

Then they need to identify the possible obstacles that could prevent them from

reaching those goals. Usually, the obstacles include at least one of the three key

components. Once a student has identified organization, time-management, and/or

study skills as a weakness, it is time to help him brainstorm possible solutions. This

should be a collaborative discussion between you and your student, and it is very

important for him to feel like he came up with the solutions on his own. If he


perceives the new structure or idea as something you came up with or something

that you are forcing him to do, it will not work in the end. He might begrudgingly do

it to oblige you for a while, but ultimately, he will not buy into the change unless he

owns it.

What might some of these solutions be? It very much depends on the

student, but ideas that have helped our students in the past include:

- using a cell phone to set reminders for big tests

- using a cell phone to write down homework for the night

- making a rule for himself that he must always put his binders in his backpack

immediately after finishing his homework

- setting aside an hour a week to organize loose papers in the backpack

- creating a weekly schedule once a week to allocate time for daily homework as

well as long-term projects

- walking around while memorizing vocabulary lists (great for kinesthetic learners)

- using different colored pens to make study guides for chapter tests (great for

visual learners)

- listening to music while studying (it has proven to help some auditory learners)

In the beginning, it is important to allow your student the freedom to come

up with ideas that he believes might work for him, regardless of your own personal

opinion. Giving him the freedom to experiment enables him to be in control of the

changes he is making to improve academically. You can follow up and ask him

how his idea worked. For example, ‚How did that Bio test turn out after you


decided to study outside?‛ For many students, the exact solution does not end up

being as important as the decision to make a change in the first place.


2. Begin with the end in mind.

At Future Focused, we are all about goals, which we break down into long-

term goals, short-term goals, and action steps. For the high school students, we

define long-term as ‘after high school’, short-term as ‘the end of this school year’,

and action-steps as what they need to do today to overcome any obstacles that

could prevent them from reaching their goals. For example, a student might have a

long-term goal of ‘Going to UCLA’, a short-term goal of ‘Getting all A’s and B’s this

year, and action steps of ‘Do my homework right when I get home from school’ or

‘Keep my cell phone across the room from me when I am studying’. It is critical

that the student sets the goals and action steps him or herself in order for him or

her to take ownership over those goals and actually follow through on the action

steps. If high school students feel their goals are being defined for them, it is a

recipe for disaster. This is when we see things like self-sabotage,

underachievement, and/or rebellion.

Therefore, as a parent, it is important to help your student define his or her

goals, but not in an overbearing way. You know your student better than anyone

else, and can help guide him in setting goals that are realistic but challenging. You

can also infuse the necessary dose of reality when required. If the average GPA of

admitted students at UCLA is 4.21, and your student has never gotten anything

close to straight A’s, you need to help him understand that reality. You have an idea

of the likely /appropriate outcomes for your student’s high school experience, and

you want to gently nudge him in that direction.


Now it’s time for the mechanics.

Know how to calculate a GPA – the way colleges do!

You may think you know how to calculate a GPA, but we have found that many

parents do not actually understand with how it works. In terms of GPA, there are

some key factors to be familiar with:

A = 4 points, B= 3 points, C= 2 points, D = 1 point, F = 0 points.

To calculate a GPA, assign the appropriate points for each class and find the

average by dividing the total number of points by the total number of classes. Here

is an example:

English 2: B

Geometry: A

World History: C

Biology: B

Spanish 2: A

Drama: A

3 + 4 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 4 = 20

20 / 6 classes = 3.33 GPA

Factoring in Honors course credit

If your student is taking an Honors course, the high school will sometimes

give an extra point for the level of difficulty of that class. You need to be aware that even

though the high school may award an extra point for Honors classes, most colleges do


not. Most colleges only give extra points for AP or IB courses (and ONE honors course –

Honors Pre-calculus).

Here is an example of how it can differ:

High School GPA calculation

(with extra points awarded for

Honors classes)

GPA calculation the way

most colleges do it

(no extra points for Honors

classes)

English 2 Honors: B (4 points) English 2 Honors: B (3

points)

Geometry Honors: A (5 points) Geometry Honors: A (4

points)

AP European History: C (3 points) AP Euro History: C (3 points)

Biology Honors: B (4 points) Biology Honors: B (3 points)

Spanish 2: A (4 points) Spanish 2: A (4 points)

Drama: A (4 points) Drama: A (4 points)

Total weighted GPA: 4.0 Total weighted GPA: 3.5

This is not to say it is not ‚worth it‛ to take Honors courses. In college admissions,

rigor of coursework is a very important factor. In addition, many high schools

require honors or accelerated courses as a prerequisite for AP courses. So, if you


plan to take AP level courses, you will often need to take the honors or accelerated

course first.

Only the semester grades count toward cumulative GPA.

The cumulative GPA is an average of all the semester GPA’s your student

has received. Even if the high school breaks up the semesters into quarters, only

the semester grades matter. Here is an example:

9th grade 1st semester: 3.5

9th grade 2nd semester: 3.9





Total weighted GPA: 3.92

Therefore, when this student fills out college applications, and they ask for GPA, he

would enter 3.92 as his weighted GPA. Many parents confuse semester GPA’s

with total GPA’s. While quarter GPA’s are certainly important because they

comprise the semester GPAs, and semester GPA’s are certainly important in that

they comprise the cumulative GPA, it is the cumulative GPA that ‚matters‛.


3. Understand how semester exams factor in.

Once students reach high school, there are cumulative semester exams at

the end of each semester. As parents, it is critical that you understand how these

exams factor into semester grades so that you can help your student prepare

effectively. We find that students often get overwhelmed by the prospect of having

cumulative exams in EVERY subject. As a result, they are overly stressed and

underprepared. They need a step-by-step guided approach to learn how to tackle

the tests effectively. Here is how you can help as a parent.

In general, semester exams account for approximately 20% of the semester

grade. Be sure to check with your student’s school to find out the exact

percentage. Once you know how much exams are worth, you can help your

student figure out exactly what this means for his grade. The earlier you have this

conversation, the better. It will allow your student to know the grade he needs to

have in a class before going into the exam.

Let’s say in Biology he currently has an 88%, and he wants to get an A in the

class (90% or above). Here is the formula to help him figure out what he needs to

get to achieve his goal, assuming the exam is worth 20% of his grade:

Step One: Cumulative semester grade x 80%

88 x .8 = 70.4

Step Two: Goal grade – Step One’s answer

90 - 70.4 = 19.6


Step Three: Step Two’s answer / 20%

19.6 / .2 = 98

So, in order to get an A in the class, he needs to get a 98% on the final

exam. If the math is too complicated, there are plenty of exam calculators online

that do it for you! (http://finalexamcalculator.com/ , or http://rogerhub.com/final-

grade-calculator/ )

The next step in helping students prepare for final exams is to help them

understand what it will take to get the scores they need on their finals. For our

example student, who needs a 98% on his final, we now need to ask him what will

be covered on the exam. Most teachers give some sort of study guide to help

condense a semester’s worth of work into more manageable chunks. Whether or

not a study guide is given, it is helpful to ask how many chapters will be covered on

the exam.

For our example student, let’s say there are 12 chapters that have been

covered in the semester. We need to ask the student how long he thinks it will take

to learn 12 chapters of material at a 98% level. For most students, this would

require a significant number of hours – let’s say 2 hours per chapter, or 24 total

hours. Before he freaks out, which almost any student who sees that number will,

we need to help him understand that the preparation will not be done in one sitting,

http://finalexamcalculator.com/

http://rogerhub.com/final-grade-calculator/

http://rogerhub.com/final-grade-calculator/


or even one weekend. If he begins two or three weeks early, it is entirely

manageable.

In our finals preparation workshops, we have our students repeat this

process for each of their classes, so that they know exactly what they have ahead

of them.

CLASS Current

Grade

Goal grade for

Semester

Goal grade for

Final Exam

# Hours

needed to

study

Biology 88 A A+ 12

Algebra 2 81 B B 6

AP Euro 89 A A+ 14

Spanish 2 92 A A 5

English 2 Honors 90 A A 4

Then, we map out their studying for the two weeks leading up to exams on a

big calendar they make themselves. In order for them to follow the schedule, it is

crucial that they make it themselves. We provide suggestions, but leave up to them

as to what nights they want to go out with their friends and when they want to take

breaks. If you are walking your student through the same exercise, make sure you

give him this same freedom. It will provide that critical ownership component.


While this is somewhat of a tedious exercise, it provides the foundation of

time management that will enable them to succeed both in high school and in

college (and beyond!).


4. Create an academic roadmap, otherwise known as a

four-year course plan.

At many high schools, the guidance counselors / academic advisors will meet with

ninth graders and their parents to develop a coursework plan for the four years of high

school. Make sure you request this meeting, and go into it as informed as possible. The

guidance counselors work with a huge range of students, and you need to clearly

communicate your family’s goals to them so that they can advise you appropriately. If your

student plans to attend a two-year college after high school, his course plan will look very

different than someone who aspires to attend Boston College or USC.

Before meeting with the counselor, familiarize yourself with the course options at

your student’s school. Usually these course catalogs can be found on the school

website. If questions arise, jot them down so that you can ask informed questions during

the meeting. You should have a loose idea of which courses are most appropriate for your

student.

Let’s say your student is stronger in English and History and not as strong in Math

and Science, your notes might look something like this:

Sample Course Plan 1 (strong History/English)

Subject Area 9th 10th 11th 12th

History

Cultural

Geography

World History

AP US History

AP Government or

AP Economics

English English 1

Honors

English 2

Honors

AP Language

and

Composition

AP Literature

Math Algebra 1 Geometry Algebra 2 Pre-Calculus or


Statistics

Science Concepts in

Science

Biology Chemistry Physics

Foreign

Language

Spanish 1

Honors

Spanish 2

Honors

Spanish 3

Honors

AP Spanish 4

Arts Elective

None Drama 1 Drama 2 None

Other

PE /

Religion/

ASB etc

PE / Religion/

ASB etc

PE / Religion/

ASB etc

PE / Religion/ ASB

etc

On the converse side, let’s say your student loves math and science, and also

plays the violin in the orchestra. And let’s say he despises foreign language. The course

plan might look more like this:

Sample Course Plan 2 (strong Math / Science)

Subject Area

9th 10th 11th 12th

History Cultural

Geography

World History United States

History

Government /

Econ

English

English 1

English 2

English 3

English 4

Math Algebra 2

Honors

Pre-Calculus

Honors

AP Calculus

AB

AP Calculus

BC

Science

Biology

Honors

AP Biology

AP Chemistry

AP Physics B

Foreign

Language

Latin 1

Latin 2

Latin 3

Arts Elective

Beginning

Orchestra

Advanced

Orchestra

Advanced

Orchestra

Advanced

Orchestra

Other

ASB

PE

PE

AP Music

Theory or AP

Statistics


Or you could have a student who struggles in school and just wants to be sure he

meets the minimum high school graduation requirements. His course plan might look like

this:

Sample Course Plan 3 (minimum high school requirements)

Subject Area 9th 10th 11th 12th

History Cultural

Geography

None US History Government/

Economics

English

English 1

English 2

English 3

English 4

Math

Algebra 1A

Algebra 1B

Geometry

Algebra 2

Science

Concepts in

Science

Marine

Biology

Oceanography

Foreign

Language

Spanish 1

Spanish 2

None

None

Arts Elective

None

None

Ceramics

None

Other

None

PE

PE

None

As you can see, there are many different academic paths to take in high school. If

you understand your student’s strengths and weaknesses, and can clearly convey the

after high school goal to the counselor, you will help ensure he is in the right courses. If


you leave it entirely up to the counselor and your student, he could end up on a path he

didn’t intend to take.


5. Extracurricular activities are not optional.

No matter what your student’s post high school plans include, getting involved in

some facet of student life will enrich his high school experience. Freshmen year is

reserved for shopping around and trying out different activities. Even if your student has

played the same sport for many years, and plans to continue playing in high school, ninth

grade is a great time to explore other interests in addition to what he already knows he

loves. He might want to check out a Drama class, or learn an instrument, volunteer for the

Surfrider Foundation club, or sign up for Mock Trial. So many times, we hear stories about

students who randomly end up at a club meeting or play audition with a friend, only to

discover a new passion. It is important to enter high school with an open mind and a

willingness to say yes to interesting opportunities.

Just as ninth grade is about exploration, tenth grade is about solidifying

involvement. If your student tried out several different sports and clubs as a freshman,

tenth grade is the time to really commit to the ones he likes most. The academic workload

is tougher, and time can be more limited. By selecting just a few activities, it enables

students to be more fully involved in each. Then, in eleventh grade, leadership

opportunities begin to arise. Juniors are often team captains, presidents of clubs, mentors

to younger students, members of student government, etc. The more consistent and in

depth the involvement has been, the more likely it is that they will be asked to lead.

Finally, as seniors, students can enjoy the long history in each of their chosen activities

and know that they are making a difference. They will be able to stand out as contributing

members of the student body, whether it be in athletics, academics, theater, music, etc..


Having a home within the larger student body makes for a much happier, healthier high

school experience.


6. Get to know the SAT and ACT ahead of time.

The SAT and ACT are critical components of college admissions. In fact, for most

colleges, this single four-hour test means almost as much as all four years of high school

grades. It is essential that you understand the tests, and develop a plan for preparation

and testing.

Here, we will cover the basics.

What are the SAT and ACT?

The SAT and the ACT are standardized tests used by colleges to assess a

student’s academic readiness and ability to succeed in college. They are each about four

hours long, and they are both accepted at almost all colleges. The SAT has three

sections: Reading, Math, and Writing, but will be changing format in 2016. The ACT has

four sections: Reading, Science, English, and Math.

When do students take these tests?

Most commonly, students take the SAT and/or the ACT during their junior year. The

tests are each offered on seven different test dates throughout the school year.

What is the difference between them?

With all college in the United States accepting either test, you need to determine which

test is best for your student. Here is a list of the key differences between the tests:

The SAT has three main sections (Reading, Math & Writing)


The ACT has four main sections (Reading, Math, English, and Science, plus an

optional Writing section)

On the SAT, the essay comes first and is not optional.

On the ACT, the essay comes last and is optional, although many colleges require

it.

The questions on the ACT tend to be more straightforward. You can pretty much

understand what they are asking the first time you read them. On the SAT, you

really need to take time to read the questions and think about what they are asking.

The pacing on the ACT is faster. Except for the Math section, you have less than

one minute per question. This means you need to work quickly and accurately.

On the SAT, you have more time per question, and you can use the scoring

system to your advantage. If you omit a question, you receive 0 points, whereas if

you get it wrong, you are deducted .25 points. Therefore, you can essentially gain

points on the SAT by learning when to skip questions rather than guess incorrectly.

The SAT has a stronger emphasis on vocabulary. If you have received great grades

on every vocab test you’ve ever taken (and still remember the words), the SAT is for

you.

The ACT tests more advanced math concepts. In addition to Pre-Algebra, Algebra

1 and 2, and Geometry, the ACT also has trigonometry questions on it.

There is that Science section on the ACT. It is not a test of your science

knowledge, but rather your reading and reasoning skills based on information given

in charts and research studies.


The SAT is broken into more sections, ten of them to be exact. The first seven

sections are 25 minutes each. Sections eight and nine are 20 minutes each, and

section ten is 10 minutes. So if you like to do things in chunks, you’ll like this

format. But if you’d rather get all of the English out of the way at once, then all of

the Math at once, etc., you might like the ACT better.

How do we figure out which one to take?

You can take all of the above information and try to guess which test you’d do

better on. You can even look at your student’s PSAT and PLAN scores (the precursor

tests to the SAT and ACT, respectively) for an indication of where he/she might be

stronger. But the most thorough way to figure out whether your student is better at the

SAT or the ACT is to take both tests. Then, you can compare the scores and have an

accurate read of where he/she stands on each one. Many test prep companies offer a

practice test without it going on the permanent record. Otherwise, just pick a test and go

with it. Preparation is the real key, regardless of which test you take. Invest in your score.

Remember, for many colleges, this one four hour test means almost as much as your

GPA, which has taken years of hard work to achieve.

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The High School Survival Guide... For Parents!