The impact of last second studying on performance [View all]

[exboyfil]

My daughter has three exams today (Trig, Chem, and Spanish), and she will have four exams one right after another for Finals (English, Trig, Chem, and Spanish). It is my contention that last minute studying (like the half hour immediately before an exam) has a dramatic impact on performance versus studying the extra half hour the night before.

Note that this conclusion is not cramming. This is a well prepared student who currently has a 4.0. She diligently does all of her homework as well as extra problems in Trig and Chemistry. I would venture to say it will make the difference between a 95 to a 85-90 (A to A-/B+). I would like to get the opinions of educators.

Another related issue is why are teachers proprietary about their work time in class. My daughter has been warned more than once about studying for a test in her next class instead of working on that class material (in many cases she has already completed the task at hand and she has an A going in that class). Why should teachers care?