How to Turn Low Grades Around

by Kate Danielson
January 7, 2026

It happens even to the best students - you go through a hard or busy time and fall behind in school. Don’t worry! With enough grit and determination, you CAN get back on track. Here are the steps we recommend you take to bring up low grades.

1. Meet with Your Teacher(s)

Find a time to ASAP to meet with your teachers in the classes you’re behind in. This should be in-person and outside of class time. Tell them you’re disappointed with your grade and state your intention to improve it. Ask them to help you make a plan.

This step is important because it shows the teacher you’re trying. It shows a lot of maturity and responsibility to talk to the teacher in person and they’ll respect you for it. You need the teacher on your side. Grading is often subjective and if a teacher knows you’re working hard, they’ll grade you more favorably.

Questions to ask: 

  • What assignments are missing? Can I still turn them in for some credit? 

  • What assignments did I do poorly on? Can I re-do them to get more points? 

  • Are there any tests or quizzes that I did poorly on that I could re-take? IMPORTANT: nail down a time when you’ll be able to re-take tests 

  • If there are any assignments that the teacher hasn’t graded that are bringing your grade down, follow up with them until they put it in the grade book. Ask once or twice a week if they’ve graded it yet.

2. Make a Plan

After you’ve spoken to the teacher in person, write down a list of everything you are planning to do to bring your grade up, put it in an email, and send it to the teacher. 

For example:

“Hi [Teacher’s Name], Thanks for the conversation about my grade. Here’s a list of everything I’m planning to do; just confirming with you that these are the right steps to take. [Insert your to-do list]”

3. Do the work.

Whether your teacher helps with the plan or not, here are the steps you should follow. 

  • Go through the grade book and find all the assignments where you have lower than a 70% (depending on how low your grades are, and what your end goal is, you could go higher or lower with that percentage) 

  • The number one thing that will bring up your grades fastest is to COMPLETE and turn in MISSING ASSIGNMENTS. 

  • Re-do any assignments with low grades, if allowed

  • Re-take any tests or quizzes that you did poorly on, if allowed. It will be up to you to schedule time. Don’t wait for your teacher to invite you. 

4. Write Assignments Down in One Place.

Create one consistent place you’re going to write down assignments and to-do’s. Whether it’s a special notebook, a note on your phone, a planner or an app, you need to have everything all together, and use it every single day in every single class. 

5. Use Active Engagement to Study

To learn effectively, don’t just re-read chapters or notes. Actively engage with the content by doing things like:

  • Make flashcards

  • Quiz your friends

  • Do practice questions

  • Do any kind of graphic organizer or outline of material

6. Work with a Tutor or Study Buddy

Sometimes the teacher’s style doesn’t click with the way you learn. If the material is difficult for you, a tutor or study buddy might help. Find someone in the class who will help you, or see if your school offers tutoring. 

7. Stay on Top of Things

Remember going forward it is SO much easier to STAY on top of things than it is to get caught up from behind.

We’ve seen students come back from the brink of failure with this method. It takes a lot of work to come from behind, but you can do it! Foster Progress is here to cheer you on!

You got this!