Adjusting practice paper times to match the actual test

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Sparrow
Posts: 9
Joined: Sat Oct 23, 2010 12:15 pm

Adjusting practice paper times to match the actual test

Post by Sparrow »

When I ask my DD to do the practice papers I normally adjust the time to match the question rate of the actual test she will sit. In my area of Redbridge the VR test has 90 questions to be done in 50 mins i.e. approximately 33.3 secs a question. I multiply the number of questions by 33,3 secs and use that as my test time rather than the time suggested by the publisher and this usually results in a different test time. For example, for Nfer VR papers the time drops from 50 mins to 47 mins and for Walsh papers it drops from 50 mins to 45 mins. Given that time is at a premium when doing the test, i feel that this method best helps my DD to understand the speed she needs to work at for the actual test. Does any one else do this or does everyone stick to the publishers stated time?

P.S. This is my first post so I want to first say a big thank you to all previous posters for the wealth of information that I have found on this site, I have found it very helpful.:D
moved
Posts: 3826
Joined: Fri Oct 12, 2007 1:42 pm
Location: Chelmsford and pleased

Re: Adjusting practice paper times to match the actual test

Post by moved »

I am copying this to the Redbridge section in the hope that someone with the same preparation regime will be able to help.
muffinmonster
Posts: 239
Joined: Mon Feb 25, 2008 2:33 pm
Location: London

Re: Adjusting practice paper times to match the actual test

Post by muffinmonster »

Hi sparrow

Until now with VR and NVR I have just followed the time on the paper, but your suggestion of trying to match the pace of the Redbridge exams is a very good one. I'll give it a try, though maybe not yet as DS is finding it difficult at the moment to finish the NVR papers even the the publisher's recommended time.

Edit: Sorry, have now put this reply in Redbridge thread as well.
Snowdrops
Posts: 4667
Joined: Wed Nov 21, 2007 5:20 pm

Re: Adjusting practice paper times to match the actual test

Post by Snowdrops »

When my dd did the 11+, I too adjusted things. It worked great and gave her a really good feel for the speed needed on the day.
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chicko-mum
Posts: 294
Joined: Wed Apr 28, 2010 12:19 pm

Re: Adjusting practice paper times to match the actual test

Post by chicko-mum »

Yes, we did that too, but only when I thought DD was ready for this, and not always, as for some papers it reduced the time available per question and made the paper harder, so we took the decision for each paper (also depending on how tired DD was, mood etc).
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