Help My Middle Schooler Build Better Study Skills

Help My Middle
Schooler Build Better
Study Skills
Compiled by:
Table of Contents
Help My Child Get Organized
Help Me Create a Study Plan with My Middle Schooler
Help My Child Listen Better
Teach My Child to Read Smarter
Teach My Child to Take Better Notes
Close the Gap with Homework
Help My Child Participate in a Group Project
Middle School Study Skills Resource List
Want a Long, Healthy Life? Stay in School
Are You Supporting Your Child's Middle School Learning?
Help My Middle Schooler Build Better Study Skills
Do I need this EduGuide?
Yes, if your middle school child is struggling with student homework and you want to give him or her the tools to succeed
2 academically, this guide is for you. You’ll get ideas about organization, project management, note taking, reading for information, and
ONLINE EDUGUIDE www.EduGuide.org
other middle school study skills to share with your child.
Help My Middle Schooler Build Better Study Skills
Do I need this EduGuide?
Yes, if your middle school child is struggling with student homework and you want to give him or her the tools to succeed
academically, this guide is for you. You’ll get ideas about organization, project management, note taking, reading for information, and
other middle school study skills to share with your child.
How does it work?
l Quizzes help you know where you stand.
l Articles give you the background information you need to make decisions.
l Real Life Stories tell how real parents and kids are dealing with situations like yours.
l ShortCuts help you take immediate action. Choose one or go through them all.
What will I learn?
l Which middle school study skills my child will need to succeed in school
l How to stay involved with my child’s schoolwork without taking over
l What steps to take at home to enhance my child’s study, notetaking, listening, organization, and groupwork skills
Quick Solutions
l What can I do in fifteen minutes? Take the quiz “Are You Supporting Your Child’s Middle School Learning?” Ask your child
which ShortCuts he or she is most interested in studying in depth, and make a date to review that ShortCut together.
l What can I do in an hour? Help your child set up a study plan and organizational strategy for the school year based on tips
found in the relevant ShortCuts. Or review the books and Web sites in “Middle School Study Skills Resource List.”
If you and your child are stressing over how to juggle student homework, chores, clubs, and friends, you need to teach some simple
organizational and time management tips. Experts who study time management and organization recommend these steps:
Schedule your child’s life. Put a day planner at the top of the school supply list, and then show your child how to use it. First, write
down essential tasks, such as classes and soccer practice. Then add in the other activities for each day.
Set realistic timelines for assignments. Talk your child through the process of scheduling time for getting work done. Here’s an
example of what you might say: “Suppose you have a science lab report due in a week. You figure you’ll need about three hours to
complete the assignment. How many nights will you have to work on it? Remember, you'll probably have other homework and
3 ONLINE EDUGUIDE www.EduGuide.org
assignments, too. If you can give the assignment a full two hours of attention one night, you'll have it done in two nights. But if you're
also working on an essay for English, the timeline for your lab report might have to change.” After a few weeks of going through the

If you and your child are stressing over how to juggle student homework, chores, clubs, and friends, you need to teach some simple
organizational and time management tips. Experts who study time management and organization recommend these steps:
Schedule your child’s life. Put a day planner at the top of the school supply list, and then show your child how to use it. First, write
down essential tasks, such as classes and soccer practice. Then add in the other activities for each day.
Set realistic timelines for assignments. Talk your child through the process of scheduling time for getting work done. Here’s an
example of what you might say: “Suppose you have a science lab report due in a week. You figure you’ll need about three hours to
complete the assignment. How many nights will you have to work on it? Remember, you'll probably have other homework and
assignments, too. If you can give the assignment a full two hours of attention one night, you'll have it done in two nights. But if you're
also working on an essay for English, the timeline for your lab report might have to change.” After a few weeks of going through the
process together, begin to let your child take control of setting timelines for homework assignments.
Set priorities. Life is all about making choices. Your child might want to watch TV, but a science lab report is due tomorrow. What
takes priority: watching TV or writing the lab report? A good student recognizes that homework comes first and prioritizes time to
complete multiple assignments.

Teach your child to prioritize by asking the following questions:
1. Which assignment will take the most time?
2. Which assignment will take the least time?
3. Should I finish one assignment before I start the next, or should I do parts of each assignment every day until I finish all of
them?
Break big tasks into smaller subtasks and schedule each subtask. Break down big projects into smaller pieces. It's easier to
schedule smaller activities, especially when there are only two hours a day to work on several assignments. For example, your child
might break down the steps in completing a science lab report like this. Help your child talk through this process for a few
assignments until he or she is comfortable doing it independently.
1. Review assignment expectations, evaluation rubric, my observations, and data from the lab (ten minutes)
2. Draft conclusions based on data (one hour)
3. Write the purpose, hypothesis statement, materials following proper scientific format (forty minutes)
4. Create data tables and graphs (thirty minutes)
5. Put it all together (thirty minutes)
6. Read over the report to catch errors, review conclusions, etc. (ten minutes).
Give your child the tools to succeed. Get a desk for your middle schooler’s room. A desk represents a tangible family commitment to
schoolwork and provides an excellent place for storage, too. Stock your home library with a dictionary, thesaurus, and possibly an
atlas. A good dictionary is worth the substantial price tag for hard cover, and thesauruses are available in paperback. Finally, buy a file
box or accordion folders so your child will have a place to store papers. A simple, accessible filing system will help him or her find
previous notes, tests, and reports quickly and easily.
Reward your child. If you see that your middle schooler is succeeding at sticking to the study schedule, give him or her a treat. It could
be shooting hoops for an hour, eating popcorn, surfing the Internet for fun, or playing a video game.


Reward your child. If you see that your middle schooler is succeeding at sticking to the study schedule, give him or her a treat. It could
be shooting hoops for an hour, eating popcorn, surfing the Internet for fun, or playing a video game.

Help Me Create a Study Plan with My Middle Schooler
According to a study by Joan Carver, an educational researcher and expert on helping students improve their middle school study
skills, the best study plans include seven characteristics. Good study plans are:
1. Simple. Good plans are uncomplicated.
2. Specific. Good plans state what you're going to do and where, when, and how you're going to do it.
3. Positive. Good plans state what you're going to do (not what you're going to stop doing).
4. Repetitive. Good plans include something you can repeat frequently.
5. Independent. Good plans are based on you doing the work; they don’t depend on anyone else.
6. Immediate. Good plans can be started right away, usually within twentyfour hours.
7. Committed. Good plans include I will statements.
Encourage your child to write down the study plan. Why? Because when people write down a plan, they are more likely to do it.
How About an Example?
Here's an example of a study plan for completing an assigned reading:
I will read at least ten pages of Animal Farm between four and five every afternoon until I’ve finished the book. I'll read in my bedroom
where it's quiet and there are no distractions. After I finish every page, I'll pause to ask myself what happened in the story. I'll answer
out loud to help me remember.
Now It's Your Turn
With your child, create a study plan for an assignment.
l Write down the plan.
l Make sure it includes Joan Carver's seven steps.
l Check it over.
Don't underestimate the power of making plans. Remember: if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

Critical listening is an important study skill. If your child doesn’t understand statements the teacher makes, his or her class notes will
suffer, and studying for tests will be harder. Share these critical listening studying tips with your child.
Listen with the intention of understanding.
To learn, you must understand what the teacher says. Use these strategies to engage your "listening ears.”
l Try to repeat what the teacher says in your mind.
Don't underestimate the power of making plans. Remember: if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

Critical listening is an important study skill. If your child doesn’t understand statements the teacher makes, his or her class notes will
suffer, and studying for tests will be harder. Share these critical listening studying tips with your child.
Listen with the intention of understanding.
To learn, you must understand what the teacher says. Use these strategies to engage your "listening ears.”
l Try to repeat what the teacher says in your mind.
l Ask yourself, Does that make sense? If not, ask for clarification.
l Nod. Moving your head in agreement can engage you, especially if you learn best through movement.
l Make connections between what the teacher says and what you already know. If you can't make a connection, ask the teacher
to make one.
Listen for teacher cues.
Listen for key phrases that teachers use to emphasize important information. Here are examples of phrases that introduce
information you should write down:
l The three most important points are
l The chief cause of this is
l This happens because
l The reason for this is
l Remember that
l There are five characteristics of
l The result is
l They key message here is
Note: Don’t try to teach all these critical listening strategies immediately. Choose one tip for your child to practice in class this week.
Add another as this one becomes a habit.

Learning to “read smart” in middle school will make high school academics much easier. These studying tips will help your middle
school child understand and remember what he or she reads in textbooks. For the next few reading assignments, go over one or two
tips per assignment to make sure your child understands them and is using them properly.
1.Preview the book. Read the contents page. Are there chapters? What are the titles? Is there a glossary at the end of the book
that defines terms? Is there an index at the end of the book that lists topics and the pages they are on? Don’t forget: the words
in the glossary and the topics in the index are listed in alphabetical order.
6 2. Turn to the assigned chapter. What is the title? What can you learn from the headings? Often headings give the important
ideas that will be covered in the chapter. Look at the illustrations and read the captions to get a fuller idea about the chapter.
Are there graphs, charts, maps, diagrams? What do they show? Graphic aids can sum up some kinds of information more
Note: Don’t try to teach all these critical listening strategies immediately. Choose one tip for your child to practice in class this week.
Add another as this one becomes a habit.

Learning to “read smart” in middle school will make high school academics much easier. These studying tips will help your middle
school child understand and remember what he or she reads in textbooks. For the next few reading assignments, go over one or two
tips per assignment to make sure your child understands them and is using them properly.
1. Preview the book. Read the contents page. Are there chapters? What are the titles? Is there a glossary at the end of the book
that defines terms? Is there an index at the end of the book that lists topics and the pages they are on? Don’t forget: the words
in the glossary and the topics in the index are listed in alphabetical order.
2. Turn to the assigned chapter. What is the title? What can you learn from the headings? Often headings give the important
ideas that will be covered in the chapter. Look at the illustrations and read the captions to get a fuller idea about the chapter.
Are there graphs, charts, maps, diagrams? What do they show? Graphic aids can sum up some kinds of information more
clearly than words alone can. Are there study questions at the end of the chapter? Look for the answers as you read.
3. What are you supposed to learn? Did your teacher give you an assignment sheet? Comprehension questions? A graphic
organizer? Before you begin reading, make sure you’ve got all the worksheets you need. Then fill them in as you read.
4. Underline, highlight, and write in the margins. If you are allowed to write in your book, highlight important ideas and write
comments and questions in the margins. If you aren’t, write comments and questions in a notebook along with the
corresponding page numbers.
5. Take notes. Paraphrasing key concepts will help you figure out how well you understand what you’re reading. Summing up the
most important ideas will help you recall what you read.
6. Draw a picture. Sometimes the best way to summarize information is by drawing a picture. Here’s an example. Learning
about photosynthesis? Draw the sun and its rays hitting the leaf of a plant. Add details to show the process the plant uses to
turn light energy into glucose, oxygen, and water. You can draw diagrams to compare and contrast or to show cause and effect
relationships, scale, a series of events, a complex system, or a cycle.
7. Stop if you don't get it. If you don't understand a passage, reread it. Try to use the context—the words and sentences around
the part you don’t understand—to figure it out. If you’re still puzzled, decide how important that information seems to be. If it’s
important, ask the teacher or another student to explain the information to you.
8. As you read and after you've finished, ask yourself questions. Try these: What main point is the author making? Does this
information support the author's argument or contradict it? Why is this fact important to the author's overall message? What did
I learn that I didn't know before? If somebody asked me to explain what I just read, what would I say?
9. Adjust your speed. Is the material difficult to understand or packed with facts? Slow down. Speed up if the material is familiar
and easy to understand.
Efficient note taking is one of the most important study skills students need to succeed in school. These studying tips will help your
middle school student get more out of lectures and class handouts.
l If it's on the board, write it down. If teachers emphasize a point by writing on the board or using a projector, it's important
enough to go into your notebook.
l If it's on a handout, take notes in the margins. Don't rewrite information that's already in a handout. Instead, add notes to
yourself and clarifications the teacher offers.
7 l Write down definitions and examples. Pay special attention to definitions and examples that illustrate and explain new
concepts.
l Don't try to write down everything the teacher says. You'll never keep up. Aim for notes that paraphrase the main concepts.
and easy to understand.
Efficient note taking is one of the most important study skills students need to succeed in school. These studying tips will help your
middle school student get more out of lectures and class handouts.
l If it's on the board, write it down. If teachers emphasize a point by writing on the board or using a projector, it's important
enough to go into your notebook.
l If it's on a handout, take notes in the margins. Don't rewrite information that's already in a handout. Instead, add notes to
yourself and clarifications the teacher offers.
l Write down definitions and examples. Pay special attention to definitions and examples that illustrate and explain new
concepts.
l Don't try to write down everything the teacher says. You'll never keep up. Aim for notes that paraphrase the main concepts.
Write words the teacher emphasizes, key questions, and important points.
l Make up symbols and abbreviations to use in your notes. This can be fun, plus you'll save time when you use your own
shorthand system for taking notes. These notetaking tips from the University of Central Missouri can help you get off to a good
start.
l Pay extra attention at the beginning and at the end of class. Teachers usually introduce the lesson at the start of the class. If
you keep the agenda in mind as the class continues, you'll follow the lesson more easily. Teachers often review important
concepts at the end of class. During this review, be sure you've got the important concepts in your notes.
l Review your notes. Students who review their notes the same day they take them—even for just five minutes—remember
more than students who don't look at their class notes until they're studying for a test.
l Keep track of dates. Put the date on every page. If your binder pops open and your notes spill out, the dates will help you get
the pages back in order. Dates can also help you remember what you learned when.
Stay Involved without Nagging
EduGuide Staff
"The worst thing a kid can say about homework is that it is too hard. The worst thing a kid can say about a game is it's too easy."
— Henry Jenkins, MIT
Teenagers will often resist parent involvement in education when it comes to their student homework—even though they ultimately
benefit from it. How can you keep your teens from seeing this involvement as just another form of nagging? Try some of these family
ideas.
Ask Questions about Your Student’s Homework
Talking about assignments helps your teenager think about them in a more critical fashion. Try these conversation starters:

l Chemistry: “I never really understood the periodic table of elements. How does it work?”
l Middle and High School Literature: “I never read ______ in school. What is it about?” or “I remember reading that in school.
the pages back in order. Dates can also help you remember what you learned when.
Stay Involved without Nagging
EduGuide Staff
"The worst thing a kid can say about homework is that it is too hard. The worst thing a kid can say about a game is it's too easy."
— Henry Jenkins, MIT
Teenagers will often resist parent involvement in education when it comes to their student homework—even though they ultimately
benefit from it. How can you keep your teens from seeing this involvement as just another form of nagging? Try some of these family
ideas.
Ask Questions about Your Student’s Homework
Talking about assignments helps your teenager think about them in a more critical fashion. Try these conversation starters:
l Chemistry: “I never really understood the periodic table of elements. How does it work?”
l Middle and High School Literature: “I never read ______ in school. What is it about?” or “I remember reading that in school.
What did you think of the main character? She always reminded me of Aunt Mildred.”
l Math: “How is that math used in real life?”
l Social Science: “How could you turn that idea into a business or moneymaking venture?”
l Writing: “With texting, blogs, and social networking, writing seems to be back in style. Do you think all this online writing helps
improve writing skills or does it hinder them? Where do you think you’ll do the most writing after school is over? Do you find you
write differently in different places?”
l Foreign language: “Could you teach me the phrases I would need to know if I were to visit Paris?” or “How is German grammar
different from English grammar?”
l History: “Do you think we could learn anything today from how the average German citizens responded to Hitler? Do you think
we could be fooled by propaganda and charisma the way they were then?”
Connect Middle and High School Academics to Real Life
Find ways to connect your teen’s student homework to real life experiences. Here are some ideas:
l Is your son studying the relationship between speed and distance? Ask him to estimate how long it will take to get to his best
friend’s house the next time you drive there. Heap on praise for the right answer. Ask how long it would take if you went five
miles per hour slower. What would he need to know to calculate that?
l Is your daughter studying a play by Shakespeare? Do the characters remind her of people she knows? Why? Has she ever
seen anyone in similar situations as to those the Shakespeare characters are in?
l Is your son studying about the American Revolution? Is your daughter learning accounting? Talk about people’s attitudes
toward taxes throughout the years. Show them your income tax forms and see if they can fill the form out using your W2s.
Does the tax seem fair to them? Can they list what taxes pay for in your community? What services might they be willing to give
up in exchange for lower taxes? What services would they like to get in exchange for higher taxes?
l Is your teenager taking physics? Spend an afternoon making paper airplanes together.
l Is your child studying probability? Spend an evening playing dice games such as Liar’s dice (also known as Bluff), Yahtzee,
Poker Dice, Craps, or Ship, Captain, and Crew. As you play, talk about what the chances are for particular numbers to come up
with each roll. Make a chart with predictions based on probability laws and then record actual rolls.
l Is your teenager in choir or band? Put the radio on scan. In the few seconds that each song is on the radio, try to identify what
instruments are being played, what the voice range of the singers are or even what key or measure the song is being played in
(depending on your teen’s level of knowledge and your own).

Teaching Makes a Great Study Skill
with each roll. Make a chart with predictions based on probability laws and then record actual rolls.
l Is your teenager in choir or band? Put the radio on scan. In the few seconds that each song is on the radio, try to identify what
instruments are being played, what the voice range of the singers are or even what key or measure the song is being played in
(depending on your teen’s level of knowledge and your own).
Teaching Makes a Great Study Skill
One of the best ways to learn is by teaching. Pick a subject that your child is studying in school and ask him to create a test covering a
variety of objectives in his current unit. (For example, if the subject is history, ask the child to write questions from throughout the
chapters that they are working on. If the subject is English, have them write questions on whatever grammatical topics they’ve been
studying or books they’ve been reading.)
Encourage them to write 20 to 25 multiplechoice and short answer questions. After you’ve taken the test, have them grade it and
provide correct answers for anything you got wrong. You can then even ask them to prepare a minilesson for you to teach you the
information you got wrong. This will boost their confidence while giving them an excellent chance to review their material.
Whichever of these things you choose to do, you’ll be modeling for your student just how important academics are.
Middle school learning often includes group projects. One purpose of group projects is to learn how to work well with others, but your
child may feel that just the opposite is happening.
Susan Mulcaire, a teacher, mother, and author of “The Middle School Student’s Guide to Ruling the World,” recommends the following
steps for participating successfully in group projects.
l Communicate with others in the group. Students should share email addresses and phone numbers so they can
communicate easily with each other and avoid “but they never told me” excuses.
l Appoint a project manager. This team member keeps a written record of everything the group decides and makes sure that
every team member has a copy of the plan. The project manager also keeps the group focused during team meetings.
However, this person’s job does not include bossing everyone else around.
l Share ideas. Group members should listen to each other’s suggestions and ideas without putting them down or letting one
student take over the project’s direction.
l Plan carefully. At the first meeting, group members should review the entire project, which should include going over the
teacher’s instructions, creating a schedule (being careful to include potential schedule busters such as sports practices,
holidays, and so on), making a list of supplies, and finding out each member’s talents and skills.
l Define tasks. Group members need to know which part of the project each person is responsible for, as well as what steps
each part includes and when it is due.
l Share the load. A common complaint about group projects is that one person gets stuck doing most of the work. Review the
tasks and the number of group members and divide the work fairly among all the members.
l Set meetings and group goals. Frequent meetings will help keep the group on track, ensure that each part of the project is
getting done, and solve small problems before they become big ones. This downloadable “Group Project Organizer” will help
keep middle school students on track while working on group projects. You can help your child complete his or her part of a
group project by providing the following support.
l Go over the assignment with your child: when the project is due, what it comprises, and how it will be evaluated. The
assignment sheet should clearly explain expectations and evaluation criteria, so be sure to read it carefully. Have your child
clarify any unclear instructions with the teacher.
l Ask what your child already knows about the subject. Calling on prior knowledge primes the brain for deeper thinking and
boosts confidence as the child realizes how much he or she already knows.
l Ask how your child will find information about the topic. Have him or her make a list. When every resource has been
exhausted, be a resource for your child.
l If your child’s part of the project requires library research, let him or her lead the way. Help write down questions for the
librarian about where to find information on the topic. Observe as your child searches the Internet. Explain why some sites
provide more reliable information than others.
l Help your child make a schedule for completing the project. Put the schedule in a prominent place—on the family calendar,
the bulletin board, or the fridge so that forgetting the deadlines will be impossible.

Whichever of these things you choose to do, you’ll be modeling for your student just how important academics are.
Middle school learning often includes group projects. One purpose of group projects is to learn how to work well with others, but your
child may feel that just the opposite is happening.
Susan Mulcaire, a teacher, mother, and author of “The Middle School Student’s Guide to Ruling the World,” recommends the following
steps for participating successfully in group projects.
l Communicate with others in the group. Students should share email addresses and phone numbers so they can
communicate easily with each other and avoid “but they never told me” excuses.
l Appoint a project manager. This team member keeps a written record of everything the group decides and makes sure that
every team member has a copy of the plan. The project manager also keeps the group focused during team meetings.
However, this person’s job does not include bossing everyone else around.
l Share ideas. Group members should listen to each other’s suggestions and ideas without putting them down or letting one
student take over the project’s direction.
l Plan carefully. At the first meeting, group members should review the entire project, which should include going over the
teacher’s instructions, creating a schedule (being careful to include potential schedule busters such as sports practices,
holidays, and so on), making a list of supplies, and finding out each member’s talents and skills.
l Define tasks. Group members need to know which part of the project each person is responsible for, as well as what steps
each part includes and when it is due.
l Share the load. A common complaint about group projects is that one person gets stuck doing most of the work. Review the
tasks and the number of group members and divide the work fairly among all the members.
l Set meetings and group goals. Frequent meetings will help keep the group on track, ensure that each part of the project is
getting done, and solve small problems before they become big ones. This downloadable “Group Project Organizer” will help
keep middle school students on track while working on group projects. You can help your child complete his or her part of a
group project by providing the following support.
l Go over the assignment with your child: when the project is due, what it comprises, and how it will be evaluated. The
assignment sheet should clearly explain expectations and evaluation criteria, so be sure to read it carefully. Have your child
clarify any unclear instructions with the teacher.
l Ask what your child already knows about the subject. Calling on prior knowledge primes the brain for deeper thinking and
boosts confidence as the child realizes how much he or she already knows.
l Ask how your child will find information about the topic. Have him or her make a list. When every resource has been
exhausted, be a resource for your child.
l If your child’s part of the project requires library research, let him or her lead the way. Help write down questions for the
librarian about where to find information on the topic. Observe as your child searches the Internet. Explain why some sites
provide more reliable information than others.
l Help your child make a schedule for completing the project. Put the schedule in a prominent place—on the family calendar,
Elizabeth Johnson
11For additional information on improving your child’s middle school study skills, the following books and Web sites offer useful tips and
strategies to improve grades and enhance middle school learning.
Elizabeth Johnson
For additional information on improving your child’s middle school study skills, the following books and Web sites offer useful tips and
strategies to improve grades and enhance middle school learning.
The Middle School Student’s Guide to Ruling the Universe (Through Work Management and Organizational Skills) This workbook, by
mom and educator Susan Mulcaire, provides students with numerous strategies to succeed in middle school. An instructor’s guide
for teachers is also available. The companion Web site for the book,
www.middleschoolguide.com, offers downloadable forms and checklists; excerpts from the book; and tips, links, and articles related
to middle school education.
The Essential Parenting Guide to Navigating Middle School and Beyond Two Michigan moms, Julie Mack and Rosemary Parker, wrote
this eightypage guide for parents embarking on the middle school adventure. It focuses on strategies to promote academic success
and college readiness for young teens. The book is available from the Kalamazoo Gazette.
MangrumStrichart’s Study Skills GuideMiddle School is written for students and presents information in chunks and bullets, with
ageappropriate illustrations. Topics include learning styles, reading for information, building vocabulary, taking notes, math word
problems, study groups, and taking tests. A free teacher’s guide is included with the student book. Visit MangrumStrichart’s Web site.
Eagle Hill Middle School in Manlius, New York, has a Study Skills for Middle School page on its Web site with concise information and
Web links for important middle school study skills, such as making a plan, getting organized, taking notes, and managing time. Visit
their site.
Video Jug offers a series of online interviews with private tutor Alexa Hale, who talks about various middle school study skills in short
(under a minute) video clips. Visit Video Jug for clips on making time to study, keeping track of assignments, organizing notes, and
using a glossary as a study tool.
Elizabeth Johnson is a Lansing, Michiganbased freelance writer and EduGuide contributor.

Health Linked to Education Level, Says Issue Brief from the Commission to Build a
Healthier America
Sara jo Schwartz
A September 2009 report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Commission to Build a Healthier America points to mountains
of evidence that links years of schooling with better personal health and wellness. Here are examples from two studies: college grads
live at least five years longer than nonhighschool graduates; 26.7 percent of white nonHispanic college graduates rate their health
12as less than very good versus 69.4 percent of white nonHispanic highschool dropouts who do.
Elizabeth Johnson is a Lansing, Michiganbased freelance writer and EduGuide contributor.

Health Linked to Education Level, Says Issue Brief from the Commission to Build a
Healthier America
Sara jo Schwartz
A September 2009 report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Commission to Build a Healthier America points to mountains
of evidence that links years of schooling with better personal health and wellness. Here are examples from two studies: college grads
live at least five years longer than nonhighschool graduates; 26.7 percent of white nonHispanic college graduates rate their health
as less than very good versus 69.4 percent of white nonHispanic highschool dropouts who do.
Not only are bettereducated people healthier than less educated ones, but the children of people with more education are healthier,
too. For instance, babies of mothers who are high school dropouts are twice as likely to die before the age of one as are the babies of
college grads; children whose parents dropped out of high school are six times more likely to be in poor or fair health than are the kids
of parents who graduated from college.
The report describes three ways education level links to health: health knowledge and behaviors, employment and income, and social
and psychological factors. Let’s take a look at each category.
Health Knowledge and Behaviors
Common sense suggests that the more people know and the clearer they think, the better their health choices will be. Sure enough,
research has found that greater educational attainment has been associated with healthful eating, getting exercise, and avoiding risk
factors such as drinking excessively and smoking. In addition, bettereducated people are quicker to change risky health behaviors in
response to new evidence than lesseducated people are.
Employment and Income
We all know that more education is the key to higher wages, but the actual numbers are quite startling. According to U.S. Census
Bureau information, high school graduates’ lifetime earnings (in 1999 dollars) are $1.2 million, compared with $2.1 million for college
graduates and $4.4 for those with professional degrees. A comfortable income helps people get the health care they need when they
need it. Wealthier people are also able to live in safer neighborhoods with access to recreational facilities and other services,
including grocery stores stocked with reasonably priced, healthful food.
Lowwage workers, on the other hand, have fewer resources to cope with medical, childcare, and other daytoday difficulties.
Understandably, they experience greater stress as a result. They also live in more dangerous neighborhood with fewer parks, well
stocked grocery stores, and other healthenhancing features.
Social and Psychological Factors
Studies reveal that bettereducated people feel more control over their lives than lesseducated people do. This sense of control
encourages skills and habits such as problem solving and perseverance that lead to better health care and outcomes. More
education is also linked to higher social standing, another factor strongly associated with better health. Social support is yet another
way that education is related to health. People with more education have greater social support, both emotional and practical, and
greater social support is linked to better physical and mental health.
The report concludes that education is the key to better health and a longer life for parents, kids, and generations to come. For details,
and to learn more, visit the Commission to Build a Healthier America. Read the “Issue Brief: Education Matters for Health.”

Sara jo Schwartz is a education writer and editor based in Grand Haven, Michigan.
greater social support is linked to better physical and mental health.
The report concludes that education is the key to better health and a longer life for parents, kids, and generations to come. For details,
and to learn more, visit the Commission to Build a Healthier America. Read the “Issue Brief: Education Matters for Health.”

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Due to the dynamic nature of our quizzes, they are only available on the web. Follow the addresses below to take a quiz on our
website.
http://www.eduguide.org/Parents/TakeQuiz/tabid/114/quizId/53/view/StepTakeQuiz/Default.aspx

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