Peace of mind is one practice paper away
The Victorian selective schools entrance examination for 2022 is just around the corner. For the parents who’s want their kids in Mac Robertson Girl’s High, Melbourne High, Suzanne Cory, Nossal High, this is the article to read. Unlike an IQ test, the selective exam rewards preparation; students that work hard score higher than students that don’t prepare. It’s not a test that measures natural intelligence, but a test that ranks students within a state. This is a reality of ranked tests, and we at Spectrum would love to help your child get ahead.
Over our 20 years of experience, we have found that the fastest, most efficient way of studying is by doing specialised selective exam practice papers.
Why do a practice test?
Every child is different. And the preparation needed for each child varies. Because of this, it’s important to find out the baseline ability for your child. A practice exams allows you to see areas of strengths and weaknesses specific to the selective exam. It also gives you an idea on how your child would react in a stressful, timed environment. The content measured in the selective exam goes beyond the year 8 curriculum, and contains question types that are designed to rank children. These tricky question are easy to counter if you’ve done them before, but quite tricky if not.
A reality check here allows you to strategise and tailor your selective exam preparation to your child. For example, they may be weak in reading comprehension, or maybe in verbal reasoning. This gives you a bird’s eye view on what to work on next. At the same time, it may inform you that your child is really strong in mathematical series, or structuring an essay. Your child will thank you for the confidence boost it gives them, knowing that they are strong in some of the areas.
Students that have done a practice exams would also be more familiar with the structure of the test, giving them an advantage.
What’s the timeline?
The most common practice for parents at the moment is to prepare their kids several years in advance. By immersing their kids in a tutoring program, parents give themselves peace of mind, and ease anxiety from kids leading up to the exam. However, for parent’s who only has several weeks time, here’s what you should do:
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Sign up to our free 5 part selective schools success course
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Have your child complete the practice exams published by Edutest to determine what gaps exist
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Sign up to our mock exam to give your child an opportunity to sit a full length test BEFORE the day.
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Try out the free practice tests within our website. They are linked here
If you would like more practice tests that cover similar topics and is formatted like the actual test that your child will encounter on the actual exam, the following exam packs are available for purchase:
Package 1: Basic $49
In this package, you will receive one full length test plus basic answers for each of the following areas:
- Reading comprehension
- Verbal reasoning
- Mathematics
- Numerical reasoning
- Narrative prompt
- Persuasive prompt
This package is suited to students who just want a bit of extra practice and who may already be familiar with many aspects of the exam and can work backwards to determine the correct answer based on the basic answer given.
Package 2: Advanced $149
In this package, you will receive three full length tests plus full worked solutions and explanations for each question for each of the following areas:
- Reading comprehension
- Verbal reasoning
- Mathematics
- Numerical reasoning
- Narrative prompt
- Persuasive prompt
This package is suited to students who are quite confident with their essay writing skills but would like more opportunities to practice multiple choice questions in order to get exposure to a wide range of questions and improve their timing. Full solutions will effectively support their study.
Package 3: Ultimate $349
In this package, you will receive
- 6 x Full length numerical reasoning exams;
- 6 x Full length verbal reasoning exams;
- 6 x Full length mathematical reasoning exams
- 6 x Full length reading comprehension exams
- 12 x Writing Prompts (3 creative, 3 persuasive)
- FULLY WORKED answers to all sections (not including the writing section)
- Our Narrative Writing Guide
- Our Persuasive Essay Writing Guide
In total, you receive 6 FULL EXAMS with FULLY WORKED answers and 2 COMPREHENSIVE writing guides.
This package is suited to students who want ultimate peace of mind. This pack leaves no stone unturned and gives feedback based on every area that may come up on the selective exam. Our narrative writing guide and persuasive writing guide also gives you an edge in hitting all the criteria the examiners are looking for.
