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Staying Up for Better Test Scores

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Staying Up For Better Test Scores
Alan Ward
PSY/315
July 10, 2014
Ian Rosen

Introduction When it comes to taking a big exam we all approach it in different ways some are good and some not so good. But we all have our own ways that we think are the best for getting that high score. Many people study for days or even weeks for exams in hopes of raising their knowledge on a given subject. Others stay up all night in hopes of cramming the information in and these people believe this is the best way to gain and retain knowledge. We will be testing which is better, to stay up at cram for an exam the night before or to study long term. We will attempt to quantify which method is better by examining the end result, the grades achieved on these exams. Staying Up Teens who stay up late at night cramming are more likely to have academic problems the following day doing poorly on the test they studied for” finds a new study by, (University of California, Los Angeles UCLA, 2012). This staying up late tends to actually become a problem over time as students begin to give up more sleep over time. This lack of sleep has compounding effect and long-term implications. Students were asked to keep diaries of sleep patterns and test, quiz, and retention performance over fourteen days. The data showed that kids who didn’t get enough sleep were not only more likely to have problems understanding during class, a result the researchers had expected, but they were also more likely to do badly on tests, quizzes and homework (University of California, Los Angeles UCLA, 2012). Even more detrimental students lost an average of forty-one minutes of sleep each night from the time they entered ninth grade until high school graduation. This loss of sleep over the years is detrimental and begins to effect concentration, cognitive ability, and motivation. This is the exact opposite effect that one desires to achieve by staying up and cramming for tests and exams.

Reference
Seffrin, A. (2012, August 21). Study or Sleep? Late-Night Cramming May Lead to Worse Grades | TIME.com. Retrieved July 10, 2014, from http://healthland.time.com/2012/08/21/study-or-sleep-for-better-grades-students-should-go-to-bed-early/
Speciale, T. (2009, October 2). Cramming Tips and Why it Doesn't Work. Retrieved July 10, 2014, from http://www.laymanpsychology.com/cramming-for-exams/

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