Here are some parent-tested ways to help your teen get off to a good start in high school:

1. Set up a study routine. High school teachers give longer assignments and expect students to take more responsibility for their own learning. Get your teen into a regular study routine. Every day at the same time, she needs to block out at least an hour for studying or reading materials.

2. Encourage your teen to be active. Kids who are more active in activities also do better in school.

3. Think about what your teen wants to do after high school. If she’s planning to go to college, now’s the time she needs to start taking the classes and earning the grades needed to get in. Senior year may be too late to take all the classes she’ll need.

4. Make sure she gets enough sleep. Research shows that teens are sleep-deprived. You probably can’t change the starting time of your teen’s high school, but you can make sure she goes to bed at a reasonable time every night. And while she’d never agree to take a “nap,” if you suggest it’s “power sleeping,” she may get a little extra sleep after school before she starts to study.

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