Average Study Time for High School Students

Do you know that research shows the average high school student studies 6.8 hours per week, or 1 hour and 21.6 minutes per weeknight? Of course, this number would vary depending on the upcoming tests, value of academics, interest in school, and capabilities of a student.

If we look at it this way, high school students already study 6 hours in school and then there is an added expectation to study at home. It might often feel like everyone around you is asking you to just study and study and not do anything else. Well, before you get irritated, understand that they have your best interest at heart. They just want you to do your best in high school. So, exactly how many hours should a high school student study? Let us find out.

A common approach 

First, let us look at a common approach that a high school student must follow. It is to study one extra hour at home for each class that you had that day. This means if you have five classes every day then you must study for five hours at home, one hour for each class.

Another common approach adopted by students is that you study 2 hours a week for each HSC unit. So, if you have 12 HSC units, you have to study 24 hours a week. This means 3.5 hours a day. This is still manageable.

Some more statistics 

Apart from what we shared above, we have a few more statistics. Based on the study habits of students in Year 12,

• 53.48% of Year 12 students study for up to two hours a day.
• 8.55% of Year 12 students study for up to three hours daily.
• 7.68% of Year 12 students study for up to five or more hours a day.

Not only this, it has been found that 53% of high school teachers allocate less than three hours of homework per week. This clearly shows that high school teachers focus on the quality of homework and not the quantity.

Factors that influence the study time of high school students

#1 Difficulty of classes 

One of the most important determinants of high school students study time is the difficulty of their course. Students who are pursuing higher-level subjects like Advanced Mathematics are likely to study for longer hours after school. This is because of the added complexity of the study material. Sometimes, teachers of advanced classes assign more homework to the students which are also time-consuming. So if you have difficult courses, be ready to give them your time.

#2 Number of classes

The number of classes that you have also directly relates to the number of hours you should study. It’s simple. The more classes you sign up for in a semester, the more you will have to study.

#3 Number of upcoming exams 

Sometimes high school students have multiple exams within a short period of time. During such days, you will be expected to study for longer hours as compared to the times when there are only a few class tests coming up. For instance, finals week is pretty hectic for high school students.

#4 How much do you value academics 

Some students are pretty serious about their school and academics. They want to score the top grades, complete their assignments on time and do everything they can to enhance their academic performance. However, some students want to pursue other hobbies and interests and just want to clear their school exams for the sake of it. Depending on which side you are on, your number of study hours would vary.

#5 Interest in the subject 

If you notice, it will not take much time to revise a subject that you like. It is easier to memorise and prepare for the exam. But on the other hand, if you are studying a subject that you find difficult, you obviously have to put in more effort. This means more study hours for that subject.

#6 Efficient use of study hours 

The quality of your study also decides how many hours you are going to study. For instance, you started studying at 10 am but then a notification popped up on your phone and you got distracted for almost an hour. Then, you again started studying from 11 am until 1 pm. You will say that you studied from 10 am to 1 pm but in reality, you only studied from 11 am to 1 pm.

So, how many hours should you study in high school?

To be honest, the right answer to this question could be given by you only. Every student is different. They have different lifestyles, interests, and goals. We recommend you to consider the factors given above and decide for yourself how much you need to study for each subject.

In general, we suggest that if you are pretty serious about college, you should study at least one hour a day after school. However, if you are not willing to go to college, studying at the weekends is also an option for you. Being an online learning platform willing to help students excel in academics, CrunchGrade’s only advice to you will be:

• Put a solid effort into learning concepts and make sure you know your material
• Complete all your assignments and homework on time
• Prepare in advance for tests and exams rather than studying a night before

It won’t be easy. But believe us, it will be all worth it in the end.

If you need any help in understanding a subject or even if you want to prepare well for an upcoming test or your finals week, find a personal tutor at CrunchGrade and start your online classes right away. We have the best tutors available from all over Australia, well-versed with the Australian curriculum including WA, ACT, SA, NT, and other popular curricula in Australia.