Have you ever wondered why you
study hard but still score low in exams? In fact, sometimes you teach others and they turn out to perform better than you.
If you are in the situation I just described, then you are not alone. As a matter of fact, I passed through such challenge for a very long time. The good news is that I was able to overcome.
It is not fun to study for long hours during the day and continue at night without evidence to show for it. Sometimes you ask yourself the question, what is wrong with me?
The truth of the matter is that, there is no cause without effect. There are so many reasons why you study hard but still score low in exams. I will try to analyze the possible factors responsible for your poor performance in exams and what you should do to get freedom.
Top 10 Reasons Why You Study Hard But Still Score Low In Exams
1. You Didn’t Really Understand What You Read
It is one thing to know what you are reading while it is another thing to understand what you have read.
Knowing that you are reading concord under the Use of English doesn’t mean that you fully understand what Concord is all about.
When you study, ensure you get the full idea passed in the topic and are able to reproduce it.
Nothing fights understanding like cramming. Cramming simply means accepting what you have read the way it is with the aim of pouring it out exactly that way.
Cramming is like chain reaction. Forgetting one thing you crammed can make you forget every other thing. This will eventually make you score low in the exam.

Read:

How To Prepare And Pass Any Scholarship Exam

Another danger in cramming is that any little twist in question will leave you 100% confused. After all, you didn’t research to know the different ways questions can come under the topic.
Instead of cramming, try as much as possible to understand what you have read. There are so many persons who will be willing to make you understand. Don’t cram!
See Also: How to read and understand on your own.
2. You Don’t Practice
Never get to a point where you feel that you know it all. No matter the difficult things you feel you know, there are little things you still don’t know. These little things can sponsor your downfall in exams.
In my number one point above, I explained the danger of cramming and why you should seek to understand what you have read. However, the fact that you understood the topic at a point doesn’t mean that it will stick to your brain forever.
Make it a habit to go over what you have read once in a while. The more you practice, the more knowledge you are exposed to.
One reason why so many candidates find it difficult to recall what they read in the exam hall is that they never revised.
Keep your brain refreshed before the exam so that you can have fresh content in the exam.
Solve as many problems as possible especially when it is a calculation subject.
After some time, go through the questions you have attempted again to see whether you can still solve them. This act will make the topic stick to your brain and you won’t have to struggle in the exam hall.
For non-calculation topics, active reading helps. Pick a paper and pen, try to put down what you can still recall from the topic. Summarize the topic in your own words and write down the key points.
In conclusion, understanding without constant practice can make you score low in exams even when you study hard. Practice makes perfect! Keep learning.
3. You Do Light Reading
So many candidates study for 24 hours a day and still score low in exams . This is because they study for their exams just the way they read Newspapers.
Effective Study is not by duration but my donation. It is very dangerous to do light reading for heavy exam . Reading for an exam requires more effort than reading newspapers or novel for fun
The best reading pattern you need to score high in your test or examination is Study Reading. In this pattern, you read to get details and as well reproduce the details.
When you read, try to recall what you have read. If you are able to recall the topic, then revise it over again. Feel free to reproduce what you study after series of revision. This is what makes serious reading.
After every topic, ask yourself series of questions, “what do I really understand in this topic? If questions come from here, am I strong enough to tackle them?”
Remember, telling yourself the truth is honesty and telling others is integrity. Do you think think that the way you are reading for your examination is the right way? Give yourself the answer!
4. You Are Slow
Like I always say, speed is of greatest demand in this century. The slower you are, the more you lose out of interesting thing that life has to offer.
How can we say that a girl is beautiful when here face is covered? We cannot tell. In the same way, we cannot tell how intelligent you are when you are not able to reproduce all you read in the exam hall.
There is no way you will not score low when you are only able to answer five out of ten questions. This poor performance is not because you didn’t study but because you are not fast enough.
In my article on how to answer exam questions with the speed of light , I tackled the full version solution to get extreme speed in the exam hall. Speed will help you overcome low score in real time.
You are not a slow learner but a Flash learner. Show them the speed you have got .
5. You Are Not Always Your Best In The Hall
It is one thing to study hard for your exam while it is another thing to reproduce what you have read. This is the problem of so many students.
For details on how to be your best in the exam hall, read my post on how to remember everything you read in the exam hall .
6. You Understand But Easily Forget
This is another reason why you may score low even with hard work. So many persons read and understand what they read at that point. After some hours, they forget 50% of what they studied. If you are in this situation. Read how to remember 90% of everything you studied .
7. You Study Off Point
Standard examinations do have syllabus. The syllabus guide you on what to read and what not to read. Some students would want to impress others by going beyond the scheme.
You get depressed when you try to impress others. Read what you are asked to read, passed the exam and continue with life. It is following principles that makes you a principal.
Remember the quote, “We may not know all the keys to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody”. Do exactly what you are told to.
8. No One Sees Your Writing
Good writing skill is very important, this is especially when you are writing a theory exam.
Your writing is the first thing examiners see .
The examiner will assume you don’t know what you are doing when he or she cannot see or comprehend what you wrote.
Strive to make your writing easy for people to see. That you see and understand the writing doesn’t mean that others do. After all, you are not going to mark your papers.
From now, make a decision to improve on your writing skill. With this, you could score higher.
9. Cross Check
With every passing day, I wonder why the brain stops working in the exam hall. The brain factor can make you score low in the exam. I will prove this.
Have you been in a situation where you crossed check the answer you provided and wondered, am I the one that did this? It happens.
You will always find silly mistakes made by you when you cross check your work. You brain can record the correct answer even when you supplied the wrong answer to the question. Cross checking helps you detect this.
I understand that you may not have all the time in the exam hall. Yet, try to go through your work before you finally submit. You will be surprised how this will prevent you from low score.
10. External Factors
These are factors that are beyond your control. System error can arise when you are taking a computer based exam. The computer suddenly develops issue and marks everyone wrongly. Server issue is also common in computer based testing (CBT).
Another external factor could be that the examiner intentionally or mistakenly marked you down. This could be for or as a result of different reasons.
In some countries especially Nigeria, There is a belief that when they follow you from the village , you will score low even when you put in your best. If this is true for you, then you have to pray. This is an external factor you may be able to control.
Finally, you may suddenly get sick in the exam hall. This will really reduce your performance. It is an external factor because you don’t have the power to choose when to get sick.
Enter your email below to get stuffs like this for free in your inbox… [wysija_form id=”5″]
If you find this article helpful, Feel free to tell me how you feel using the comment box or let others benefit too by sharing this.

 430 total views,  1 views today