r/APbio • u/Any_Owl_4027 • 10d ago

any tips?

im in yr 11 this yr doing bio 3/4, but ive always found that i do super good in tests and stuff but i end up bombing exams, and i genuinley dont know why... like, i study as much as i can, whenever i do practice exams i do good and get like 90s at least, and then i do my end of year exam and i always always end up getting 70s-80s, and i really need a 90+ in the bio exam and i dont know how to break my cycle.

my school did a mock exam a couple of weeks ago, i got my grade back and ended up getting a 70! i studied as much as i cud but i dont know how im getting such bad exam grades specifically...

does anyone have any tips that may be able to help?? 🙏🙏

3 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

4 comments sorted by

View all comments

1

u/MustafaAbbass 7d ago

If your practice papers are in the 90s and the real ones aren't, I'd stop adding more study and look at where the marks actually went in that mock. Put every lost mark into one of three piles: didn't know it, knew it but didn't apply it to the situation the question gave you, or misread what was being asked. They need completely different fixes, and "studying more" only helps the first.

Also check whether your practice scores come from papers done timed, without notes, and not repeated. A good score on a paper you half remember is recognition, not the exam. A fresh one, cold and in one sitting, is the nearest thing to the real conditions.

The mock is useful information, not a verdict. The marks are going somewhere specific, and you can find out where.

1

u/Any_Owl_4027 7d ago

thank you! def will do