Griffin Noerenberg
Staff Reporter

Being accepted to college doesn’t mean that you have the right to ride the senior slide. Don’t hop off the high school train until you have made it all the way to the end. Even though they do not always say it, colleges still check second semester grades.

“I was accepted to college in early November of 2014. I was very happy with my grades at the end of first semester. I block from fifth hour to seventh hour. I go home and eat, then I go to work,” senior Lauren Stark said. “This whole semester is kind of a senior slide. I only have one real class this semester, AP Psych, and I haven’t had any homework this semester.”

According to ERIC.com, many high-achieving students do not question their academic success. They do well and are content with the study skills they have developed to ensure that they achieve their goals.

“I had good grades my junior year, and the beginning of this year they were very good. Second semester has gotten easier. I have the core classes, which I have to do a lot of work in then I have a few electives where I don’t have to try as hard in. I have not thought about the senior slide,” senior Sam Fryer said. “I still try hard during the second semester. My study habits have stayed the same since middle school.”

Using a sample of college freshmen who had earned academic warnings or had been placed on academic probation, this research examined each individual and the causes of his or her underachievement.

Participants attributed their high school successes to minor efforts. Not needing to do much to earn the success they wanted, these students were never taught, nor ever taught themselves, how to work through challenging issues.

“I refuse to have senior slide. I am full on classes this semester besides a study hall and a teacher’s assistant,” senior Maddy Schaad said. “I’m pretty sure that I have only had four missing assignments in my life. I have noticed a change in my study habits as I have gone on through high school. If you really want to go to a specific college, set a goal for each week for yourself to accomplish.”

According to an Oxford Journal, out of class study time is essential in students’ language learning, but few studies in ELT measure out of class study time or investigate how teachers can encourage, rather than demand it.

In Japan, out of class study time is lower than might be expected, ranging from zero to an hour per week. Results from self reports and course evaluations suggest that clear course aims, strong student – teacher relationships, non threatening classroom environments and interactive classroom procedures boost out of class study time.

“I didn’t really try harder first semester because my classes were easier. I would say that my study habits have gotten better as I have gone through high school,” senior Allie Anderson said. “I tried harder this year than any of the other years. I tried really hard at the beginning of this year, and I am happy with all of my grades this past semester. I feel like I am mentally prepared for next year.”

According to Promoting Children’s Motivation, although parental autonomy support has been linked to children’s intrinsic motivation to learn and positive emotions in numerous studies, there has been little research on interventions to promote parental autonomy support, especially in the realm of homework and school related learning.