Have your teen's grades dropped in high school and you no longer recognise your successful child? Possible causes, warning signs and steps families can take.
Often the first sign that your child's grades dropped in high school is a phone notification. In mid-November one from e-Okul (Turkey's online school information system) arrives: "Maths, 1st written exam: 38." At first you think you have misread it. This is the grade of your son, who never had anything other than top marks on his reports throughout middle school and who got into a good Anatolian high school with a high LGS (Turkey's national high-school entrance exam) score. A few days later similar news arrives for chemistry. When you bring it up in the evening, he shrugs: "Everyone got low marks anyway." But you sense that something has changed. Many parents in this position go through the same bewilderment: how did the child who succeeded effortlessly in middle school reach this point within a few months? In this article we look at the possible causes of falling grades in high school, when they might be a sign of a deeper problem, and how families can offer support during this period.
Grades Dropped in High School: What Happened to the Success of Middle School?
The move from middle school to high school is not just a process in which the school building changes. The number of subjects, the depth of the content, the types of exams, teachers' expectations, the profile of students in the class and the young person's own stage of development all change at the same time. That is why it is far more common than people think for a student who did well in middle school to experience a drop in grades in their first year of high school.
This drop usually does not show that the young person is "no longer clever" or has "become lazy". More often, it shows that the methods that worked in middle school are falling short in high school and that the young person has not yet adapted to the new conditions. Still, in some cases a drop in grades may be the first visible sign of a difficulty outside school. Telling these two possibilities apart is the first step in offering the right support.
The timing of the drop also offers a clue. A drop that arrives gradually from the first weeks of high school and spreads across many subjects is mostly to do with adjustment and methods. By contrast, grades that had been going well for a whole term suddenly collapsing after a particular event calls for a look at what was changing in the young person's life at that time. The question "Their grades dropped in high school, but when did it start?" is often more illuminating than "Why did they drop?"
Common Reasons for Falling Grades in High School
A Fish in a Bigger Pond
A student who gets into a selective high school through the LGS was among the top students in the class in middle school, but in high school finds themselves in the same class as dozens of students who are just as successful. The average has risen and the competition has increased. Grades achieved with the same effort may drop; this does not mean the young person has gone backwards, but that the comparison group has changed. Even so, the young person often experiences it as a personal failure.
Number of Subjects and Density of Content
In high school the number of subjects increases markedly and the content of each one deepens. Physics, chemistry, biology, history, geography, literature, a foreign language... Topics that could be pulled together with a few hours of study in middle school require regular revision in high school.
Middle-School Methods No Longer Being Enough
In middle school, many students can succeed with multiple-choice tests and short-term memorisation. In high school, written exams, open-ended questions and problems that require making connections between concepts come to the fore. A student who is very good at tests may struggle in a written exam where they have to put their thinking down on paper.
Easing Off or Burning Out After the LGS
For a young person who spent the last two years of middle school in intensive exam preparation, high school may be the "Now I can finally breathe a bit" period. In some young people, the LGS marathon leaves behind a kind of burnout; mind and body need rest, and the energy given to lessons declines.
A Widening Social World
A new school, new friends, perhaps getting around the city alone for the first time, first romantic feelings, social media traffic stretching later into the evening... In the middle of adolescence, an expanding social world can take up far more space in the young person's mind than lessons. This is understandable from a developmental point of view, but when no balance is struck it shows in their grades.
Sleep and Daily Routine
High-school hours, school-bus journeys and evening study sessions, combined with a habit of going to bed late, can lead to chronic sleep deprivation. A sleep-deprived mind's capacity to learn, remember and focus in exams is noticeably reduced.
Our article on adjusting to high school may also help you understand the general challenges of the first year.
When Might Falling Grades Be a Sign of a Deeper Problem?
When a drop in grades comes on its own, it is usually a problem of adjustment or method. But if it is seen alongside the following changes, it is worth looking more carefully:
- Withdrawing from activities they used to enjoy, from friends and from family activities
- Marked reluctance, constant tiredness, frequent crying or getting angry easily
- Significant changes in sleep and appetite
- Not wanting to go to school, frequently recurring physical complaints in the mornings
- A marked increase in secrecy, a new circle of friends you don't know, coming home late
- Signs of being bullied at school: belongings going missing, bruises, never talking about school
- A drop that began after a loss in the family, divorce, a move, financial hardship or a traumatic event such as an earthquake
These patterns do not on their own mean a diagnosis. But in adolescents, depression, anxiety or other difficulties often show themselves first in school performance. Our article on depression in teenagers can guide you on how depression in young people can be told apart from ordinary adolescent moodiness.
The Young Person's Identity and the Feeling "I'm Not Clever Any More"
For a young person who was known throughout middle school as "hard-working", "clever" and "the family's pride", the first low grades in high school are not just an academic problem but a shake-up of identity. A young person who has defined themselves by their success for years may fall into the thought: "I was never actually clever; I only did well because middle school was easy."
This thought can go in two directions. Some young people try to prove themselves by working even harder, and their anxiety rises. Others give up trying, saying "I can't succeed anyway." The second path looks like indifference from the outside; yet it is very often a self-protective effort that prefers not trying to failing. Someone who didn't try can say "Well, I didn't study" when they fail; but someone who really studied and still got a low grade comes face to face with the conclusion they fear: "I'm not clever enough."
The first low grade in high school does not show that the success of middle school was a lie; it shows that learning has moved into a new stage.
The family's reaction also affects which of these two paths is chosen. In a home where the atmosphere changes in an instant and voices harden whenever grades come up, the young person may learn to hide a low grade or to look as though they don't care at all. In a home where a low grade can also be talked about and where people can say "We'll sort this out together", the young person is less hesitant to say they are struggling.
Relatives and neighbours can add to this shake-up too. The question "He got into such a good school; how are his grades now?" creates a feeling of being examined in both parent and young person. Giving short, general answers to such questions and not making the young person's academic ups and downs a topic for the wider circle lightens their load.
Continuing to see the young person's worth independently of their grades during this period helps them get through this shake-up less wounded.
What Should Families Do If Their Teen's Grades Dropped in High School?
Your first reaction determines whether the young person will talk to you about this. The steps below can lay the ground for cooperation instead of conflict.
- Don't pass your panic on to the young person. One written exam grade is not a term average; and a term average is not a young person's future. First settle your own anxiety, inside yourself or by talking with your partner.
- Be curious instead of blaming. Asking "How are you finding your subjects this year? What do you find most challenging?" rather than "What's happened to you?" makes it easier for the young person to share their own observations.
- Avoid comparing with middle school. The sentence "You always got top marks in middle school" shames the young person further and pushes them onto the defensive.
- Draw up a concrete picture. In which subjects is there a drop, and in which not? Is it the written exams they struggle with, or the coursework assignments? This distinction shows where the problem comes from.
- Meet the teachers and the guidance service. Teachers can give you valuable information about how the young person seems in class: Do they take part? Are they sleepy? Do they do their homework?
- Review the daily routine together. Talk with the young person about practical matters such as bedtimes, phone use, study environment and the school-bus journey, and agree on small changes.
- Don't rush straight to private tutoring or a prep centre. Extra lessons sometimes really do help; but if the problem is method, motivation or an emotional difficulty, the additional load only increases tiredness.
Let's say your daughter's grades have dropped especially in humanities subjects, and when you talk she says she knows the answers in written exams but "doesn't know how to write them". In this case the solution is not studying more content but developing the skill of writing answers to open-ended questions: first organising her thoughts in short bullet points, then turning those points into paragraphs.
For the Young Person: Switching to High-School Style Studying
If you too are a student who did well easily in middle school and has started to struggle in high school, these changes can make a difference:
- Try to recall rather than reread. Reading a topic over and over feels familiar, but it is not enough to make sure you remember it in the exam; closing the book and writing or explaining what you have learnt in your own words is much more effective.
- Prepare for written exams by writing. Practise writing answers to open-ended questions. You can ask your teacher for past written exam questions.
- Set aside weekly revision time. In high school, topics build on one another. A short return to earlier topics every week reduces the pile-up before exams.
- Ask early about what you don't understand. You may have done well in middle school without ever asking a question; in high school, going to the teacher after class stops you missing a topic and then everything built on top of it.
- Don't equate the grade with yourself. A low grade shows you need a new method; it does not have the final say on your abilities.
When Should You Seek Professional Support?
Fluctuations in grades during the first months of high school are usually part of the adjustment process and improve with time. However, seeking support from a professional can be helpful in the following situations:
- The drop in grades lasts longer than a term and does not improve despite the young person's efforts
- The drop is accompanied by unhappiness, reluctance, inability to enjoy things or frequent crying
- The young person avoids going to school or experiences intense anxiety in the mornings
- Marked changes are seen in sleep, appetite or social relationships
- The young person talks about hopelessness, worthlessness or life feeling meaningless; if they express thoughts of harming themselves or ending their life, call 112 (emergency services) without delay
These symptoms do not on their own mean a diagnosis. But they suggest there may be an emotional difficulty behind the drop in grades that needs to be addressed.
How Are Academic Decline and Mood Addressed in Therapy?
The first step in therapy is to understand what lies behind the drop in grades. In this process, the young person's sleep, friendships, family relationships and mood are addressed as well as their academic life. Sometimes low grades are only a problem of method; sometimes they are the visible face of a burden the young person has been carrying for a long time.
In the cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) approach, the thoughts that come with low grades are examined, such as "I was never actually clever", "Whatever I do, it won't get better" or "I've let my family down." How realistic these thoughts are is assessed together, and more balanced perspectives are developed. On a behavioural level, steps such as getting back to studying with small, achievable goals and putting sleep and daily routine back in order are planned.
If there is marked low mood, reluctance or loss of enjoyment, these symptoms are assessed separately and, if deemed necessary, an assessment by a psychiatrist is recommended. You can find information about work with mood-related difficulties on the depression and mood page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should we change schools because their grades have dropped?
A drop in grades in the first year of high school is usually an adjustment process that does not call for a change of school. Changing schools brings a new adjustment burden, and if the real cause of the problem is method or an emotional difficulty, it may continue at the new school too. It is healthier to make this decision after at least a term of observation and conversations with teachers and the guidance service.
Do first-year high-school grades affect the university entrance exam?
High-school grades feed into the placement score to some extent through the secondary school achievement score (OBP); but a single written exam or a single term does not determine the whole picture. It is more helpful to pass this on to the young person not as a threat but as information that explains why regular study matters.
Our teenager is hiding their grades from us. What should we do?
Hiding grades is often a sign of shame and fear of the reaction. Trying first to understand this fear and giving the message "I want to know your grade whatever it is, because I want to help you" helps rebuild trust. Meeting a grade you discover was hidden with a harsh punishment, on the other hand, increases the chances that the next one will be hidden too.
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Eda Erkan Alapala
Klinik Psikolog. İstanbul Kent Üniversitesi Klinik Psikoloji Tezli Yüksek Lisans mezunu; bilişsel davranışçı terapi, çocuk merkezli oyun terapisi ve çocuk-ergen psikoterapisi alanlarında eğitimlerini tamamlamıştır.
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