Go beyond the surface information. Don’t just stop learning at the bare facts. These will not make you any smarter, nor will they give you the analytical tools you need to get straight A’s. If you really want to excel in school the most important thing is to always ask why. Learn why things work the way they do, why things matter and then you can apply that knowledge across a vast amount of information and may be correctly guessing even things you might not have learned about.