The 11+ tests are right around the corner, so here are my top tips for helping your child in these last few weeks before the tests:
1) Quiz them on key facts (a few at a time) that are easily forgotten.
My free Revision Prompts document is very useful for this. It doesn’t have answers, just prompts to ask your child. If they can’t remember, you can help them look them up.
2) Keep their brain sharp and fast!
Several times a day, get them doing some mental maths, spelling, reading and talking about a text (the trickier the text, the better). This doesn’t mean overdoing it; setting them hours of work every day will probably be counterproductive because it will just result in fatigue and resentment. Little and often is likely to be much more effective.
3) Finish those practice books.
These won’t be much use after the test, so make sure you put them to maximum use now. Be sure to get your child to check their answers against the answer pages, and read the explanations if provided.
Remember to get them to look back through sections they already completed too (and any tuition notes they might have), to remind themselves of topics and strategies. This might be especially useful in Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning, as it might have been a long time since they practiced specific types of question.
4) Plug any gaps and tackle any problem areas.
The practice that your child has been doing, may have highlighted some weaker areas or topics. Those are the places to focus your time and energy most in these last weeks. It’s tempting for children to go to the areas they found easy or that they’ve got more answers correct. While this is great for reassurance and raising confidence, it probably won’t help them boost their score. Practising questions from their weakest areas is much more likely to.
5) Don’t neglect the times tables and old spellings!
Have them recite the times tables (or just counting up in multiples for each one) once per day. It only takes 5 minutes (hopefully less if they know them well already), but it means they’ll be right there at the very top of their brain when they need them. And they definitely WILL need them. Look back at the Year 3/4 and Year 5/6 Statutory Spellings lists to make sure that these are all secure. My free 11+ Vocabulary List is also useful for this.
6) Make sure they are familiar with the method of inputting answers correctly.
In my area, for the Kent Test, this means drawing firm pencil lines through the correct box on the answer sheet. This is very different to normal school tests (although they may have used this method if they have done CAT tests in school), so it’s worth familiarising them with it. I talk about this more here, in a previous article about the Kent Test. The familiarisation samples on the KCC website are also a good place to go for this.
7) Try not to panic, or let your child panic.
A panicky brain can’t learn well or rationalise well. Your child has done a lot of work over the past 3 years (in school, even if they’ve not done any preparation outside of school), which will all be helpful. And you’re both doing these things now to help them. So try to remember that your child IS ready for this. And remember, if the results don’t go the way you’d hoped, there are appeal processes in place if you need them (see my article here, about what happens after the test). Whatever happens, you and your child will find a way forward, and they can still thrive and excel wherever they go.
8) Don’t worry about what others are doing.
No other child is exactly like your child. No family is like your family. Sometimes it can seem very daunting when other parents are proclaiming that their child has been doing hours and hours of study, or reams and reams of worksheets. Whether that’s true or not, it should make no difference to you and your child. Your child’s priorities, personality, ability, circumstances and mindset are unique, so thinking that you need good child to be learning in the same way and completing the same work, is unwise. Do what is right for your child and your family.
If you are considering using a tutor to help your child prepare for the Kent Test, please see details of my Tutoring Service, and contact me to enquire about availability. You are also welcome to send me a message through my Facebook page.
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