Focus Education NZ

How can you help your child do well in their ICAS assessments?

Students who go into an assessment without understanding what they will need to do are disadvantaged. Not only do they have to work through the tasks under time pressure, but they also have to familiarise themselves with the structure and the way the questions are presented.

It is much easier for a student to do well in an assessment if they are prepared for the process already.

• They will already have practiced thinking about the subjects and skills in the assessment and how to answer related questions.
• They will take less time to enter the flow of the assessment and work efficiently, rather than taking valuable test time getting to know the paper structure.
• The cognitive load on their brains is reduced, leading to faster cognitive processing.
• They can focus more on the actual content of the questions.

The best way to achieve this is of course using past papers and practice tools!

ICAS Assessments offers a range of papers and tools for New Zealand students at their website: https://www.icasassessments.com/icas-preparation-tools/

Tips for making the most of past papers

Simply getting your child to complete a past paper or two might help them get more familiar with the assessment structure, but there are other strategies to make this time more useful:

• For questions your child gets wrong, talk about how they could have worked out the right answer.
• Identify subjects and skills that your child needs to know more about.
• Time them and identify if you could work with them on time management.
• Get expert help from a tutor or teacher.

How a tutor or teacher can help

Teachers are aware of the intentions behind assessment questions. This means they can review your child’s answers and identify which subjects and skills need work.

Teachers are knowledgeable in the subjects and skills your child will be assessed on. This means they can work with your child on those areas your child may need help in, reframing information in a way that your child can absorb and guiding them to respond critically to what they study.

Teachers are familiar with the stress, confidence and time management issues experienced by students. This means they can work with your child on problem-solving skills, developing a sense of confidence and self-efficacy when taking assessments, and suggest time management strategies that get the best results for your child.

For best results, find a tutor or teacher who can communicate well with your child and yourself, is familiar with ICAS assessments, and is able to help prepare your child over at least several sessions.

Focus Education provides these kinds of customised classes with our expert teachers and tutors. Feel free to contact us for more information.