Mock tests are important for your child to take before the real 11+ exam. Do not waste time and money on mock tests without doing a detailed review of each test. Your child must take at least 2 face-to-face mock tests and 10-15 online mock tests to be fully prepared for the real tests. You can book our online mock test covering all 4 subjects on April 13th on our partner website EPRB. But first, be aware of the 5 most important points before you do. We are providing a detailed checklist and action steps for analysing mock tests. To receive this, fill out the form at the end of this blog. EPRB Mock Tests on April 14th- Book by clicking this link 1: Find out the cohort size taking the tests from the test provider and whether they will provide the question paper. Cohort size is the number of children taking the mock test along with your child. This number will give you an indication of where your child stands in comparison to the cohort. This is important to assess when the results come in so that you can then analyse how much work your child would need to put in to meet the expected standard and the question paper will help you to support your child on the topics they need to improve and focus their energy on. 2: When you receive the results, don't be overwhelmed and do not compare your child with others in a manner that will offend or belittle their efforts. What you must do instead is to praise your child for the effort they have put in and sit down to do a full review of the test. 3: Make a list of all the wrong answers against the topic (and subject) of the question. Review this list and try to see if you can spot a pattern. Usually, there is a pattern to the mistakes that children make. There may be a topic or a sub-topic within it that your child did not understand or is not clear about. They will make more mistakes in this topic than others. If you can't spot such as pattern, see if there is an issue with your child not having enough time to finish the test and hence made a mistake. This would require looking at which question(s) your child took more time to answer than others which may mean they need to go through that question (and the topic) to ensure full understanding. Another factor may be nervousness which will need some more work to resolve. 4: The fourth step is to review and reflect on the causes you have discovered above and start working on them. Your job is to then unravel the patterns and reflect on them. And when I say reflect and review it applies to reviewing the topics which may need more work so that means going over the topic again, giving a small topic test going through the fundamentals, and the logic and using different resources so that your child gets to understand the topic with fresh eyes and this time, in a way that he can understand it on a deeper level. That can mean watching a video on the topic or getting help from their teacher or tutor. Reflecting on things like timing and how you can improve the time taken for a particular question would also relate to topic understanding as mentioned above. Your child will be able to go through a question depending on their strength of the topic. Your child will take longer on questions and topics in which they are not very comfortable. Comfort, accuracy and speed come from understanding. Reflect on things like nervousness to find out what made your child feel anxious, and what could they do. There are several ways you can help them to lessen this anxiety and worry. Techniques such as journaling, conversations where they can express their thoughts and feelings and deep breathing can be used. This will help them to deal with a similar situation in a much better way the next time they face it. Likely it will increase the chances of a better performance. The 11+ Journal is a tool to help your child express their thoughts and feelings. Available on Amazon. 5: The fifth and last step is to make a question paper with questions that are similar to the ones your child got wrong. Make a question paper using a mix of questions so that there is a balance. Your child may have an excellent memory and can sometimes learn answers. You do not want them to recall answers but rather you want them to recall their understanding of the topic. You can also use revision packs bought online to give test practice at home. Ensure you simulate a test environment when doing this. Download Revision packs from EPRB- click here. Get a checklist to analyse mock tests- fill out this form
5 Top Tips to Review your Child’s Mock Tests
