Preparing for the selective test
In the coming weeks and months before your child’s selective exam, it can be confusing to know how to start helping them prepare for the test. There is a fine line between just preparing, and preparing your child effectively which includes working on their weak subjects, method of studying, keeping a balanced lifestyle, and brushing up on exam techniques. These tips have been compiled after hours of research and insight from our tutors at Little Elites. Without further ado, here are the top 3 tips:
Understanding your child’s strengths and weaknesses
It is important to identify your child's strengths and weaknesses, and work on them accordingly. For example, if your child excels in mathematics, but is slightly weaker in English, it is a good idea to move your focus to helping them with english. This will allow you to strategically boost your overall score in the entrance exams.
How do I find out their strengths and weaknesses?
Report Cards:
Reports (from school, tutoring, mock tests etc) offer great insight into how your child’s academics are going. Considering your child’s past few report cards can give significant insight into what subjects your child is already performing well in, and what subjects your child needs to strengthen.
NAPLAN Results:
NAPLAN is a national test that your child would have sat in years 3 and 5 (and continues for year 7 and 9). It compares your child to the school, and the national average of students in a multitude of subject areas such as reading, writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation, and numeracy. While the difficulty and structure of NAPLAN is different to the selective and OC exam, looking at the results can help identify your child’s strengths and weaknesses.
Asking Your Child.
Communication is key. Asking your child what subjects interest them, what subjects they find difficult, easy, etc is important to understand what's the best way to help them. Our tutors have years of experience in pinpointing weaknesses and designing lessons to address their students weaknesses.
Remember: to boost overall exam score, it is best to focus on improving weaker subjects instead of the subjects which your child is already comfortable with.
If your child is younger and has more time to prepare for the exam, we recommend:
Reading programs or book clubs
The reading and writing sections of the selective test are generally the weaker points of most students. An easy way to strengthen your child's reading and writing skills could be involving them in reading programs or book clubs.
Encourage your child to choose a challenging, yet interesting book, and after each chapter or chosen interval, let them write a summary, or an imaginative opening to continue the story. Such exercises not only strengthen your child’s English skills, but also strengthen their overall ability to think creatively and analytically, which are great tools for high school, and life in general.
Practice
Doing practice tests under a time limit helps your child work on their time management skills, and helps them get used to the style of the exam. Our resources may be a useful place to start:
All in all, one of the most important aspects of preparing for the selective test - or any test, is practising consistently. You may have heard primary school private tutors say “HSC is a marathon, not a sprint”. Well, the same goes for the selective and OC tests.
Remember - consistency always outperforms intensity.
If you want to speak with a TOP (Selective school graduate, high ATAR achieving) tutor, we can help you find one.
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