There seems to be a running theory that pops around every school break in parent circles. What’s concerning is how such an idea gets accepted as truth without question, eventually distilled into a piece of advice that parents pass on to their children in a single line: ‘You just need to work harder next term.’
We’ve worked with students and educators long enough to say this with real conviction: Working harder is not the single determinant of better results.
Let’s run a quick thought experiment. If a student studies two or more hours longer than their peers each day, we’d all agree they’d qualify as a ‘hard worker’, wouldn’t we? And yet, we’ve seen plenty of these students still fall short of the results they’re aiming for, despite the extra time and effort.
For all you know, your child might already be working harder than they’d like to. Asking them to work even harder doesn’t fix the problem. It only adds fuel to the fire, putting them on a collision course with burnout and disengagement. That is the last thing any parent wants for their child.
And this doesn’t just apply to students who are struggling. Even high performers can internalise this idea that to get better, they have to do more — more hours, more pressure, more sacrifice. But more often than not, it ends up taking them down the same path of burnout, disengagement and declining performance throughout the year.
How Bea Got Higher Marks with 30% Less Work
Bea was the kind of student most parents would describe as a ‘hard worker’. Diligent, disciplined and aiming high, with her sights set on law. She put in the hours, stayed up late before exams, and constantly pushed herself to do more because, in her own words, ‘I’m worried I’m not doing enough.’ Despite all that burning effort, her marks were slipping, with lapses in memory and careless errors showing up when the stakes were highest.
When we worked with Bea, we ran a performance mindset assessment and confirmed that she had indeed internalised the idea that studying had to feel hard to be effective. So even when she was already scoring 95% or higher on practice papers, she kept searching for something more challenging at the expense of her mental performance.
With the support of her family, we put in a recovery plan to stabilise her marks and rebuild her confidence. This included structured study systems, clearer stopping rules, and black-out zones on weekends to prioritise recovery and maintain energy throughout the week.
Within a single term, Bea improved her marks by 10% while reducing her study time and workload by 30%. She then went on to secure a place in a double degree in Law and Commerce at Sydney University, without putting her life on hold to get there.
Why Strategy is the Biggest Driver of Results
There’s nothing inherently wrong with telling your child to ‘work harder’. After all, effort is a prerequisite for strong marks and a high ATAR, so yes, they need to put in the work.
But by Semester 2, when academic demands and expectations ramp up, effort alone is no longer the primary differentiator. In fact, it’s not uncommon to see students who were written off as ‘lazy’ in the previous term overtake classmates who had consistently performed well.
As you can probably tell from Bea’s story, the differentiator is strategy.
Now, strategy is, of course, a broad concept, and Bea’s story shows that. But regardless of the specific tactics involved, the one thing that consistently makes or breaks progress is personalisation. In fact, a 2023 study found that students in personalised learning environments tend to outperform their peers in traditional classrooms by around 40%.
Personalisation, in this context, isn’t just about adjusting difficulty or pacing. It’s about building a study approach around how your child actually learns, where their current gaps are and what will create the biggest academic return for the least amount of friction. Regardless of the student’s starting point, an effective personalised strategy is usually underpinned by the following principles:
- Clear prioritisation of high-impact learning areas based on current performance data.
- Study systems that match the student’s natural working style and attention span.
- Defined stopping rules to prevent overstudying and protect mental performance.
- Alignment between assessment criteria and how responses are prepared and structured.
- Regular progress checks that keep students accountable and aware of their standing.
Just as importantly, personalisation means giving your child a say in how their plan is structured. That creates a greater sense of ownership and accountability because they’re part of the process, rather than having something imposed on them. They have a much clearer line of sight between the effort they’re putting in and the marks they’re working towards, making them far more likely to follow through.
If your child is working hard but still not getting the results, then it’s time to shift from doing more to focusing on the right things. To make that easier, we’ve put together a simple Improvement Plan, packed with recommendations based on the latest Semester 1 data from more than 120 secondary schools.
