Welcome to our fourth in the series as we look in depth at each of the 6 assessments offered by ICAS, in order of paper sitting dates. This week, we look at the highlights and details of the ICAS Science assessment.
What is ICAS Science?
This assessment looks at a student’s ability to use scientific thinking in a range of year-appropriate science topics. The assessment is between 45 and 60 minutes long, with 30-40 questions. Science is offered for NZ students from Year 3 (Introductory paper) to Year 13 (paper J), and is available at Focus Education.
Why sit this assessment?
Science is one of the three major subjects that all students must master for a successful school education. Many students who pursue STEM subjects after high school need a good grounding in scientific knowledge and thinking skills. Most essentially, science teaches critical thinking and a deeper understanding of the world around us, including complex issues such as climate change and health.
What does the assessment cover?
Students will be asked to perform a range of actions, depending on their school year. You can view the detailed assessment framework along with tasks that may be required for every paper level on the ICAS website here. The assessment covers five key scientific skills, and becomes progressively more complex for older students. The five key scientific skills involved are:
- Observing and measuring
- Interpreting
- Predicting and concluding
- Investigating
- Reasoning and problem solving
Some highlights from the framework we noted here at Focus: The assessment covers multiple scientific disciplines, including biology, chemistry, physics, and space and Earth science. The questions focus on comprehensive skills and emphasise understanding and application. The questions also involve varieties of graphs and tables, which means analytical skills are highly important.
How can my child prepare for this assessment?
To prepare for ICAS Science, we suggest deepening your child’s scientific knowledge as well as awareness of the paper structure and question styles.
- Comprehensively review the full range of scientific fields from biology to chemistry, physics and space and Earth science. Textbooks, extracurricular books and science magazines can be helpful.
- Use a past paper or example questions from the ICAS website to get your child used to the question types and patterns, improving exam techniques. We suggest using the practice tools available here.
- Read the latest science news. Broaden your child’s knowledge base by keeping them aware of the latest developments and trending topics in science.
- Utilise preparation courses and online resources. Courses and workshops provide knowledgeable, professional guidance relevant to ICAS Science, while additional practice materials and study tips are available on a range of online learning platforms.
Technical requirements for this assessment
As a digital assessment, ICAS assessments all require a suitable device with an operating system that can support the live test. Some schools and centres may provide a device, whereas others may require you to bring a device for your child. Most common devices and operating systems are supported, but it is a good idea to check your device on the ICAS page for technical requirements here well in advance of the sitting date for the assessment.
A final note
If you choose to register your child for ICAS Science at Focus Education, you can find all the registration information along with sitting dates here. Please also ask us about pre-assessment support.
Look out for our next in this series – ICAS In Depth: Spelling Bee – coming soon!
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