Newbie with Mistakes

Discussion of the 11 Plus

Moderators: Section Moderators, Forum Moderators

MadMum.com
Posts: 59
Joined: Tue Mar 26, 2013 8:38 pm

Newbie with Mistakes

Post by MadMum.com »

Hi Everyone, Im looking for some advice please. I have been doing some tests with my daughter over the last few months and working on certain areas and all seemed to be going well, until just lately. The last test she did in Maths (which is her weekest subject but still above national average) she only managed to get 30% The worst mark she has ever had when I checked it, most where silly mistakes where she hasn't read the question correctly. Or miss counted. The last few she has done the marks have been getting lower but never this low.

Does anyone have any good ideas on how to correct this, how to get my daughter to read the question correctly? and how to stop the silly mistakes?
mystery
Posts: 8927
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2009 10:56 pm

Re: Newbie with Mistakes

Post by mystery »

Was it just a one off on this particular paper? I'd give her the whole paper to do again when she is fresh one morning and see what she gets before you start to think about what to do about it, as it may just have been one big blip. Also, children don't like repeating things so that may in itself be enough to nip a new careless habit in the bud.
ginx
Posts: 2151
Joined: Mon Jul 04, 2011 2:47 pm
Location: Warwickshire

Re: Newbie with Mistakes

Post by ginx »

We gave my dd a "mock" entire 11+ paper to do a week before the 11+ (which was the last work we did for the 11+).

She did terribly badly. I don't know why. Silly mistakes.

Has your dd had enough of doing tests? Perhaps she'd like a break?

My dd went on to pass the real thing. I wouldn't worry about one paper, just carry on. Perhaps show her how to read the questions correctly and let her find the answers.
copella
Posts: 1200
Joined: Thu Mar 04, 2010 3:51 pm

Re: Newbie with Mistakes

Post by copella »

Agree with ginx perhaps she needs a break. I remember my son getting tired and bored by the whole process and this really impacted on his results. He ended up unable to add the most simple sums and seemed to make it up as he went along and maths is his best subject!! As a result we stopped testing him on past papers and went back to the drawing board, going over the areas he made repeated mistakes in and helping him with his focus. We also started doing 10 minute tests and built up his confidence so that he eventually was able to go back to full papers, and we only started full papers for him 4 months before the exams as I really wanted him to feel he could do it. However even then there were days when nothing went right.

Don't worry too much you have some time to go. Get her to sit some mock exams so that she can get a feel of what it is like and the cohort she will be a part of. Sitting the Sutton Mocks made a huge impression on my son and on me as it really felt like the real thing.

best of luck
Bromleymum1
Posts: 129
Joined: Thu Oct 11, 2012 11:31 am

Re: Newbie with Mistakes

Post by Bromleymum1 »

Hi,

I work in a primary school and have noticed that many children just don't read questions properly. I always remind them to make sure they understand what the question is asking them to do. They need to "read it aloud in their head." Is it a one or two step question? What method can they use? Also, once they have an answer - does it seem sensible? Can they check it, for example, do the inverse. If there is a particular area they are having difficulty with, then concentrate on it, to help them gain confidence. The website primary resources is good for finding "worksheets" many of which are downloadable and which you can then alter to add variety.

Good luck.
Daogroupie
Posts: 11099
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Herts

Re: Newbie with Mistakes

Post by Daogroupie »

A whole bunch of very able Maths students got low marks on the Watford consortium example last year because the questions were too easy for them so they rushed them and made very simple mistakes. The lost marks were magnified in the standardisation so they ended up losing places to students who found maths hard so worked at the questions slowly and steadily. She needs to slow down and do inverse operations on each question until she stops making silly mistakes. Which exams will she be sitting? DG
inmystride
Posts: 198
Joined: Mon Feb 14, 2011 3:25 pm

Re: Newbie with Mistakes

Post by inmystride »

We did absolutely no 11+ work with DS and DD until 6 weeks prior to the exams, both of whom passed for super selectives. If your DD is above average I would suggest a long break.
3b1g
Posts: 403
Joined: Sun Oct 14, 2012 3:11 pm

Re: Newbie with Mistakes

Post by 3b1g »

DS1 went through a phase of making careless mistakes in order to finish the paper more quickly so he could go off and do his own thing. I started a routine where we would go through each wrong answer together as I marked it. He soon realised that the more he got right, the quicker he'd be done!
erisindevon
Posts: 42
Joined: Tue Oct 16, 2012 9:16 pm

Re: Newbie with Mistakes

Post by erisindevon »

DD had a couple of maths papers with unexpectedly low marks - as others have said, it was a combination of boredom with the whole process, and rushing because she wanted to do something else.

I would mark her papers immediately, and go through the mistakes with her. She would often say 'but that's what I put!' and explain her reasoning perfectly, so it was obviously careless answering rather than problems with understanding. We would go through and see how many marks she 'should' have had if she'd just been a bit more careful. This boosted her confidence, because she could see that it wasn't a "can't" issue, but something she could take control of. It also meant we could see where the genuine gaps were, and work on them.

I do remember worrying about it last year, but DD was much better at pacing herself by the time the real thing came around. And of course - in the real exam, there's no point rushing because you can't walk out early to do something more interesting ;)

And she passed, with bells on - so in hindsight I would have panicked less.
Beckii330
Posts: 57
Joined: Tue May 29, 2012 9:16 pm

Re: Newbie with Mistakes

Post by Beckii330 »

erisindevon wrote:DD had a couple of maths papers with unexpectedly low marks - as others have said, it was a combination of boredom with the whole process, and rushing because she wanted to do something else.

I would mark her papers immediately, and go through the mistakes with her. She would often say 'but that's what I put!' and explain her reasoning perfectly, so it was obviously careless answering rather than problems with understanding. We would go through and see how many marks she 'should' have had if she'd just been a bit more careful. This boosted her confidence, because she could see that it wasn't a "can't" issue, but something she could take control of. It also meant we could see where the genuine gaps were, and work on them.

I do remember worrying about it last year, but DD was much better at pacing herself by the time the real thing came around. And of course - in the real exam, there's no point rushing because you can't walk out early to do something more interesting ;)

And she passed, with bells on - so in hindsight I would have panicked less.
This is spot on and how I managed to slow my son down. I marked straight away and he would attempt the question(s) again. Usually, his pass mark was well over 90% without the silly mistakes and this did bolster his confidence.

Also, check, check and double check - some of the answers can be ruled out (presuming it's a multiple choice) by simply looking at them so common sense and basic logic needs to be applied before marking an answer as quick as possible.
Post Reply
11 Plus Mocks - Practise the real exam experience - Book Now