ANNOUNCEMENT: Registration is now open for our Summer 2025 SAT Classes!

ANNOUNCEMENT: Registration is now open for our Summer 2025 SAT Classes!

background blog

How to Motivate Your Teen to Care About School Without Nagging

How to Motivate your teen. Ladder on yellow back grount leading to clouds

Aaron Andrikopoulos • July 18, 2025

How to Motivate Your Teen Without Nagging

Having teenagers is difficult. If it feels like a full-time job just getting your teenager to care about school—you’re not alone. The dynamic between parents and older students is challenging, but there are things you can do to support your student and foster positive interactions that lead to academic success.

Motivation is a skill. And with the right support from TestTakers, your teenager can develop it—without you burning out. Think of us as a place to outsource the nagging. We’re here to help motivate your teenager, keep you in the loop, and coach your student to succeed.

Why Teens Lose Motivation

Teens have developing brains and often struggle with executive functioning. Part of what we do in our SAT test preparation classes is break the test and the SAT study plan into smaller, more manageable pieces. That way, students can tackle the material one step at a time. We help them learn how to think about thinking and how to structure their time outside of our lessons.

It’s also important to remember that teens are under a lot of pressure. They face high demands from school and extracurricular activities, and they often feel like they lack autonomy or connection to their schoolwork—or to life in general. We work with students to let them approach the test in their own way, albeit with structure and form.

Unmotivated behavior is often a symptom of these broader struggles—not laziness on the teenager’s part. Keep reading to learn how to motivate your teen.

What Doesn’t Work

  • Nagging and micromanaging
  • Bribes and punishments
  • Constant reminders without systems

You’ve probably tried at least one of these already—and if you’re reading this, chances are it didn’t get the results you were hoping for.

The key is to find productive ways to interact with your teenager about schoolwork. That’s where TestTakers can help.

We use relatable anecdotes, and we provide supportive role models who connect with students and care about their success. This helps teens find their own passion for learning. Many of our students—and their parents—tell us the best part about SAT classes with TestTakers is that they made the test feel fun and enjoyable. It didn’t feel like work, and it helped them with their schoolwork beyond just the SAT.

What Does Work: Motivation Strategies That Stick

Praise Effort, Planning, and Persistence

We focus on building a growth mindset. It’s important to set a direction and be clear about what’s expected of a teenager. Then, when they take baby steps in that direction, we praise the effort right away.

We also give them a roadmap. Our tutors help model and shape behaviors that lead to better results—not just on the test, but in how they manage time and work through challenges.

Set Clear, Achievable Goals

Again, we rely on chunking. We break big goals—like improving a score by 300 points—into smaller, more manageable steps. That might mean:

  • “Read every question carefully on this practice test.”
  • “Break the questions into pieces.”
  • “Label all my work.”

The idea is to help students focus on what they can control, one task at a time.

Normalize Struggle

It’s normal to struggle. Learning depends on wrestling with new ideas and figuring things out. That’s where growth happens—and we talk about that openly with students.

Bring in a Neutral Third Party

This is one of the biggest game-changers for families. Teens often respond better to coaches and tutors than they do to their own parents. Don’t worry—at some point in the future, they’ll listen to you again. But for now, think of us as a place to outsource the nagging.

How TestTakers Supports Motivation

Our tutors act as coaches—not just content experts. They’re skilled at connecting with students, guiding them through challenges, giving them bite-sized assignments, and helping them build real skills that last beyond test day.

It’s okay to step back. We’ll keep you in the loop.

Motivation takes time, but with the right support, teens can build lasting drive. Your role as a parent is to encourage, support, and get help when it’s needed. If you want to talk more about what we do, we’re here to help.

Ready to stop nagging and start seeing progress?

Schedule a free consultation and see how TestTakers can help you learn how to motivate your teen without the daily battles.