5 Tips to Save Your Grade in High School Biology

Biology is the field of science that studies life itself. While biology is fascinating and fun, studying life as we know it is no easy feat.  From classifying kingdoms of living things or understanding cell meiosis or community ecosystems, high school biology students have a wide range of sub-topics to cover.

If you find yourself struggling in Bio class, it is time to step back and come up with a game plan. UPchieve spoke with Ms. Rachel Har, a high school science teacher who’s taught Biology, Earth Science, Geophysical Science, Consumer Chemistry, and Life Science. She gave us her top 5 tips for students who want to excel in high school biology.

1. Know where your high school biology grade comes from 

Understanding biology as a subject and getting a good grade in your biology class are actually two different things. A nascent biology genius could still fail class if they didn’t understand how the teacher calculated final grades. Look at how your teacher breaks down course grades. If that information is not written down in a class syllabus or guide, ask your teacher directly. You need this information to strategize a game plan.   

For example, your grade might be a sum of 2 exams (40%), homework (40%), classroom participation (5%), and a final project (15%). Let’s imagine that you are in danger of failing Biology class after bombing your midterm exam. You’d know that your teacher considers homework to be as important as your exams though. So, finishing homework should be a top priority. You will also aim to do really well on your final project, since it is a whopping 15% of your total grade.   

Your teacher will also have policies on late work, half or partial credit, or extra credit. If you failed your midterm, ask if you could receive extra credit if you could show that you eventually understood the material. 

2. Aim for quality over quantity when studying

Ms. Har says that students need to understand what style of studying helps them learn the best. “Find out how you learn best and spend an hour doing that. That’s so much better than 5 hours of just reading the textbook.” When you learn what works for you, you can merge that style with spaced-repetition flashcards or in a study group.

Visual learners

Draw pictures along with definitions for flashcards. 

Auditory learners

Ask if you can record lectures. Or, record yourself reading your notes and listen back. Make up songs and mnemonics to help you with biology terms. 

Kinesthetic learners

Get involved in lab work. Learning about monomers and polymers? Build yourself a model with pipe cleaners and beads. Even drawing diagrams of processes can solidify your memory.

3. Get a free biology tutor

Some of us feel shy or embarrassed to ask for help. However, a real person in real time can answer your questions, re-do confusing steps, try to re-word explanations in new ways, and go at the pace you need. Tutors are ideal when you’re struggling through a hard subject. 

School

If your teacher offers special time when students can ask for extra help, use it. 15 minutes of one-on-one time with your teacher will usually be way more effective than 2 hours of struggling on your own later on. It can help to bring marked down homework and tests so you can understand exactly where you made an error. 

Locally

Not all schools have teacher office hours. Luckily, tutoring is offered at many institutions. Check at your local public library, YMCA, or Boys and Girls Club because they often run free tutoring or after-school homework groups.

Online

Numerous tutoring services operate online. The nonprofit UPchieve offers free, on-demand tutoring for students who can’t afford a private tutor. UPchieve tutors are always free and available 24/7. Companies such as The Princeton Review can be pricey but they offer 1 hour of online tutoring free to new clients.

4. Brush up on Latin and Greek

No, really. Ms. Har says that biology is more challenging than other science subjects because of the new vocabulary. Students are introduced to many words that they have never encountered before or hear on a day-to-day basis. It can be overwhelming. What is her advice?

“At our school we started with learning a bit of Latin prefixes. That way students can break down words and construct meaning versus just learning a random list of science gibberish.”

Here is one list of common Latin and Greek prefixes and suffixes that can make biological terms feel more familiar and meaningful.

5. Supplement with other biology homework help resources

Sometimes it can just help to see the material explained in a new way. You can find many content creators online that illustrate biology concepts in creative ways. YouTube and TikTok are tricky because it’s just too easy (and tempting) to keep going deeper down the rabbit hole of content. To avoid distraction, Ms. Har suggests Khan Academy. The videos help auditory learners and the graphics can help explain biological systems in an intuitive way.

Check out Khan Academy’s section for High School Biology and AP Biology to get started.

Final Thoughts on High School Biology

You don’t have to struggle through high school biology homework alone! UPchieve has tutors for biology and over 15 other high school subjects, free and available on-demand for eligible students.

Check if you qualify on our student page.