Checking in and needing advice please

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nikki2403
Posts: 14
Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2018 9:22 pm

Checking in and needing advice please

Post by nikki2403 »

Hi all,

Just thought i`d give an update.

I made my first post a few months ago and I was crying :) thinking what on earth have I got myself into.

Thanks to the fantastic advice I received on here, I changed my approach and worked on understanding rather than the 10min testing.

I am happy to report, my DS is doing well and I have learnt, when he understands, the speed naturally follows, so i am not worried about speed for now. However just to give an example (i hope to encourage someone else who is doing this for the 1st time) my DS would complete the 10 test in about 40 mins. Now he finishes around the 6-8min mark and that without my setting the timer in front of him. I do time it for my own knowledge but he doesn't know this. He is consistently scoring between 7-9 out of 10 which I think is good.

Last Saturday, I gave him 50 math questions i complied myself (this was made up of all the things he learnt in the last 3 months) and he got 42/50

This has been such an emotional journey for me and him but we are finding our feet and i am not shouting as much (hardly) or loosing my temper.:) We are both calmer.

So my question, I find the scoring very complicated to understand. Can someone please explain to me in lay man terms (or direct me to the right forum if this has been asked before) what is a good score. e.g if he is scoring 7-9/10 thats a good place to be or 40/50 not so good and so on.

Thanks for reading.
Nicole
Aethel
Posts: 1190
Joined: Sun Dec 20, 2015 6:24 pm

Re: Checking in and needing advice please

Post by Aethel »

Is your child in year 5 right now? If so, he’s doing fine. There is no magic score to “aim for”, it’s a question of enough practice to build confidence and ensure they have a good spread of knowledge appropriate for their school year (some areas require end of year 6 maths and English, though none need beyond that and some areas only test up to end of year 5 material: check in the local area boards or on your target school’s info).

You’re in a good place with this, so take a well deserved break for you and him over the next few weeks and enjoy the holidays! It’s important to have some “pull-back” breaks so that he isn’t too bored and turns off before the exam comes along: kid’s scores can often drop in the end of the summer if they have over-prepped and are just sick of the whole thing. As you say, when the understanding is there, it won’t go away.

Well done, and good luck but come back to it in the New Year!
RedDevil66
Posts: 104
Joined: Tue May 22, 2018 8:23 am

Re: Checking in and needing advice please

Post by RedDevil66 »

nikki2403 wrote:Hi all,

Just thought i`d give an update.

I made my first post a few months ago and I was crying :) thinking what on earth have I got myself into.

Thanks to the fantastic advice I received on here, I changed my approach and worked on understanding rather than the 10min testing.

I am happy to report, my DS is doing well and I have learnt, when he understands, the speed naturally follows, so i am not worried about speed for now. However just to give an example (i hope to encourage someone else who is doing this for the 1st time) my DS would complete the 10 test in about 40 mins. Now he finishes around the 6-8min mark and that without my setting the timer in front of him. I do time it for my own knowledge but he doesn't know this. He is consistently scoring between 7-9 out of 10 which I think is good.

Last Saturday, I gave him 50 math questions i complied myself (this was made up of all the things he learnt in the last 3 months) and he got 42/50

This has been such an emotional journey for me and him but we are finding our feet and i am not shouting as much (hardly) or loosing my temper.:) We are both calmer.

So my question, I find the scoring very complicated to understand. Can someone please explain to me in lay man terms (or direct me to the right forum if this has been asked before) what is a good score. e.g if he is scoring 7-9/10 thats a good place to be or 40/50 not so good and so on.

Thanks for reading.
Nicole
Firstly Nicole,well done for being so honest about your experience. I'm sure you're not alone in your fears.

Secondly, I feel you need to stop being so anxious about the exam this will only spread to your DS and spoil the whole 'journey' for him.

Don't get hung up on testing, especially to a time limit. An accurate score at this stage while understanding the answers is far more important than speed. They have at least 10 months to improve their speed so careful deliberation is actually the best at this stage.

Concentrate on improving key skills in maths and English rather than tests. A constant routine of testing isn't really achieving much. Reading for example should be enjoyable and if possible share the reading with your DS. They will learn more and enjoy it far more if they feel you are on a journey with them. If they are tackling a maths or comprehension question that is challenging;work it out together and compare answers. See where you both have gone wrong and where you can improve the response.

Forget about high scores at this stage. All well and good if it's consistent but you really want the high scores 4/6 weeks prior to the exam. But also expect a dip...it happens.

Please don't lose your temper :wink:
nikki2403
Posts: 14
Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2018 9:22 pm

Re: Checking in and needing advice please

Post by nikki2403 »

RedDevil66 wrote:
nikki2403 wrote:Hi all,

Just thought i`d give an update.

I made my first post a few months ago and I was crying :) thinking what on earth have I got myself into.

Thanks to the fantastic advice I received on here, I changed my approach and worked on understanding rather than the 10min testing.

I am happy to report, my DS is doing well and I have learnt, when he understands, the speed naturally follows, so i am not worried about speed for now. However just to give an example (i hope to encourage someone else who is doing this for the 1st time) my DS would complete the 10 test in about 40 mins. Now he finishes around the 6-8min mark and that without my setting the timer in front of him. I do time it for my own knowledge but he doesn't know this. He is consistently scoring between 7-9 out of 10 which I think is good.

Last Saturday, I gave him 50 math questions i complied myself (this was made up of all the things he learnt in the last 3 months) and he got 42/50

This has been such an emotional journey for me and him but we are finding our feet and i am not shouting as much (hardly) or loosing my temper.:) We are both calmer.

So my question, I find the scoring very complicated to understand. Can someone please explain to me in lay man terms (or direct me to the right forum if this has been asked before) what is a good score. e.g if he is scoring 7-9/10 thats a good place to be or 40/50 not so good and so on.

Thanks for reading.
Nicole
Firstly Nicole,well done for being so honest about your experience. I'm sure you're not alone in your fears.

Secondly, I feel you need to stop being so anxious about the exam this will only spread to your DS and spoil the whole 'journey' for him.

Don't get hung up on testing, especially to a time limit. An accurate score at this stage while understanding the answers is far more important than speed. They have at least 10 months to improve their speed so careful deliberation is actually the best at this stage.

Concentrate on improving key skills in maths and English rather than tests. A constant routine of testing isn't really achieving much. Reading for example should be enjoyable and if possible share the reading with your DS. They will learn more and enjoy it far more if they feel you are on a journey with them. If they are tackling a maths or comprehension question that is challenging;work it out together and compare answers. See where you both have gone wrong and where you can improve the response.

Forget about high scores at this stage. All well and good if it's consistent but you really want the high scores 4/6 weeks prior to the exam. But also expect a dip...it happens.

Please don't lose your temper :wink:

thanks soo much for you thoughts
nikki2403
Posts: 14
Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2018 9:22 pm

Re: Checking in and needing advice please

Post by nikki2403 »

Aethel wrote:Is your child in year 5 right now? If so, he’s doing fine. There is no magic score to “aim for”, it’s a question of enough practice to build confidence and ensure they have a good spread of knowledge appropriate for their school year (some areas require end of year 6 maths and English, though none need beyond that and some areas only test up to end of year 5 material: check in the local area boards or on your target school’s info).

You’re in a good place with this, so take a well deserved break for you and him over the next few weeks and enjoy the holidays! It’s important to have some “pull-back” breaks so that he isn’t too bored and turns off before the exam comes along: kid’s scores can often drop in the end of the summer if they have over-prepped and are just sick of the whole thing. As you say, when the understanding is there, it won’t go away.

Well done, and good luck but come back to it in the New Year!
Thanks alot for your feedback. My DS is in year 5 currently.
Cecilcaterpillar
Posts: 31
Joined: Tue Feb 13, 2018 10:47 am

Re: Checking in and needing advice please

Post by Cecilcaterpillar »

well done with sticking with it. It is more important that he understands the principles at this stage. you have plenty of time to improve speed. Also remain calm, otherwise you transfer all the pressure of performing to your child and they are still really little to cope with that.
nikki2403
Posts: 14
Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2018 9:22 pm

Re: Checking in and needing advice please

Post by nikki2403 »

Cecilcaterpillar wrote:well done with sticking with it. It is more important that he understands the principles at this stage. you have plenty of time to improve speed. Also remain calm, otherwise you transfer all the pressure of performing to your child and they are still really little to cope with that.
Thank you for your thoughts. We are taking a little break for the xmas period, I feel sooo nervous because we have got ourselves into a little routine. On study days he says "mom time to go up" bless him. I guess I am nervous he will forget,we`ve worked hard the last few months.
Cecilcaterpillar
Posts: 31
Joined: Tue Feb 13, 2018 10:47 am

Re: Checking in and needing advice please

Post by Cecilcaterpillar »

don't worry about him forgetting stuff, it'll soon come back especially if he's grasped it in the first place. I had the same concerns about my DD as she gets so distracted with anything. you have plenty of chances to review in the coming months. Maybe you could find some fun activities that are vaguely related during the holidays. my DD2 came home wanting to make alien 3D shapes to compare to regular ones which then led to a discussion about number of sides/ vertices etc. you can always make some wordsearches up or pick an unusual word of the day and see how often it can be put into conversation. more importantly enjoy the Christmas festivities and family time, you can always make a gentle start in the few days after new year.
nikki2403
Posts: 14
Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2018 9:22 pm

Re: Checking in and needing advice please

Post by nikki2403 »

Cecilcaterpillar wrote:don't worry about him forgetting stuff, it'll soon come back especially if he's grasped it in the first place. I had the same concerns about my DD as she gets so distracted with anything. you have plenty of chances to review in the coming months. Maybe you could find some fun activities that are vaguely related during the holidays. my DD2 came home wanting to make alien 3D shapes to compare to regular ones which then led to a discussion about number of sides/ vertices etc. you can always make some wordsearches up or pick an unusual word of the day and see how often it can be put into conversation. more importantly enjoy the Christmas festivities and family time, you can always make a gentle start in the few days after new year.

Thank you soo much, your right, if he forgets, the seed have already been planted so its just a few catch up sessions and we will be back on track. We have removed by a moderator which he loves so we will continue to play that along with others over the xmas period. We also have and adult vs kids quiz which they love because they always win. lol
Have a lovely xmas and thanks for the support.
Deb70
Posts: 340
Joined: Sat Oct 13, 2018 5:00 pm

Re: Checking in and needing advice please

Post by Deb70 »

In my experience.....we built up extremely high accuracy with DS and then practised until timing was also good. But in the end, it was the nerves and stress of the day that was the deciding factor. If I could do things differently I would put him in for mocks and get some tuition over the summer. When schools go back in September the other children will all be talking about how much practice they've done and for my DS that made him very nervous.
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