4 Stages of Exam Preparation
Parents and students are often confused about how to start preparing for exams, what the process looks like and how long it will take.
In our experience, the most successful students are those with plenty of time for preparation. This allows them to follow a systematic approach and ensure that they understand the core content of the exam but also the nuances of test taking so they can get consistent results. We always tell our students that at the end of the day, you are only as strong as your weakest link.
For students starting their preparation journey, this means they need to work on their weaknesses before the exam, so they can focus on their strengths on the day. To more advanced students, this means achieving greater consistency so that their weakest score is not on the day of the test.
To help you plan your child's exam preparation, we’ve created a roadmap with the four stages of exam preparation to guide you through this process.
Stage 1: Knowledge building
“Data! Data! Data!... I can’t make bricks without clay.”
A strong house cannot be built without strong foundations. Likewise, your child’s confidence begins with understanding the basic principles necessary for each subject.
For Mathematical Reasoning, this is about knowing basic arithmetic, learning the concepts of each topic and finally applying these to worded problems more similar to those found in the Selective and OC Tests.
In the Reading section, this involves learning text type conventions, developing analytical reading skills such as summarising, contextual reading and making inferences, and ultimately becoming more comfortable with each question type.
It sounds simple but the process of achieving competence in most skills across all subjects is the most time-consuming process of the preparation journey, typically taking six months to a year depending on the child.
Classes such our WEMT course can help make the knowledge building process easier by focusing on developing a deeper understanding of question types rather than spoon feeding children information.
Stage 2: Drills
“Practice makes perfect!”
Students are always told that repetitive practice is important and they should keep repeating what they learn. However, repetitive drilling can get frustrating (and is generally not productive!) unless it’s done the right way. To maximise the benefits from repetition, parents and students need to identify the areas that the student is not as confident with.
For example, a student has gained a thorough understanding of percentages but is not as familiar with the percentage change formula. As questions on percentage change are fairly easy to come by, the student should attempt 10 questions of the same difficulty (initially simple and then intermediate based on their ability).
Students benefit the most from drills when they attempts questions under time pressure, which again can be tailored to your child’s ability. Some may require 20 minutes to do these questions and that’s certainly okay - as long as they gradually decrease the time from 20 minutes to 18 minutes and then 15 minutes until it matches the exam (roughly 1 mark per minute).
Drills are critical in ensuring that students are confident with solving word problems, as many students learn the fundamentals but are not comfortable with applying these to variations of questions. Drills teach students that there are a limited number of ways in which questions can be varied, eventually learning to recognise these variations. Becoming more comfortable with time pressure is equally important, and providing gradual increases in time restrictions over the span of 2-4 months is the best way of approaching test preparation.
Stage 3: Exam specific practice
While the previous stages were about having the skillset to tackle the final exam, there are some test taking skills that are equally important. These include:
Time management skills
Error checking strategies
Familiarity with multiple choice techniques
Dealing with uncertainty
Skipping steps with accuracy
And recognising red herrings.
While you can practice these at home, our Selective and OC trial test courses teach these strategies in a way that young children will understand them and provide a strict test environment to mimic the exact same conditions as the OC or Selective Test. A review session is also provided in each class by experienced high achieving tutors to help students identify weaknesses and teach children the best test taking techniques.
Stage 4: Training consistency
As I initially mentioned, you are only as strong as your weakest link. For students at this stage, what that means is that they will inevitably experience variations in their mock exam scores. While everyone is quick to celebrate the higher scores, it is equally important to recognise the reasons for the lower scores and address these to improve consistency week to week.
There are many types of errors that students make. Understanding their weaker areas in a particular paper is critical to removing fluctuations so that on the day of the big exam, it is simply another paper rather than the ultimate assessment.
If you would like to discuss your child’s exam preparation roadmap, please contact us or book a free trial today.
Published 10th October 2020, last edited 19th February 2022
