It is indeed a mission and a half to excel in PSLE mathematics and everyone knows this! PSLE Math papers have gathered attention from many parents over the past few years for being particularly difficult. Parents argue that children of such young age cannot possibly think of solutions of such depth and understanding. Every year PSLE papers cause a commotion as the examination is generally notorious for its challenging nature.
This is also one of the main reasons for the huge demand for PSLE math tutors. Students are unable to excel in their examinations with the help of school alone. The guidance from school does not seem sufficient to help them achieve a top grade. The extra push can only be given by tutors who can identify students’ learning gaps and help them progress gradually, at a steady pace.
Here are some ways in which students can dodge the curveballs thrown at them for PSLE Math!
ADMIT THAT YOU NEED HELP
There are many students who fail to admit that they need help. Asking for help is seen as a form of embarrassment and this is a huge barrier to success. Solving word problems in mathematics requires students to put various skills to use and these cannot be acquired by students themselves. They need to seek the help of PSLE Math tutors and seek proper guidance.
Word problems are complex to dissect as they present lots of important information which will be useful to solve the problem at different steps of deriving the solution. Students may not know how to dissect the text, identify question requirement and isolate key words. This will be taught step-by-step by tutors and with practice, students will be able to master these skills and do it all on their own!
A RACE AGAINST TIME
It is undeniable that time management is a skill that is extremely difficult to master during the examination. This only comes with plenty of practice. This means students need to have spent enough time practicing using their,
- Tuition assignments
- Assessment book practice questions
- Mock exam papers
- School homework
- Test papers
And every other resource available out there. The biggest advantage of practice is the reinforcement of knowledge. It also provides the opportunity for students to identify what they do not know as well. Tuition agencies in Singapore have free test papers uploaded for students and tuition teachers for extra practice. Over time, students will be able to complete their papers with enough time to spare for checking towards the end of the examination.
Time allocation:
For paper 1, students should allocate about 1-2 minutes for each question and enough time should be spared to check if they have shaded their Optical Answer Sheets (OAS) properly.
For paper 2, students should allocate 2 minutes for each short-answer question and try to complete each long-answer question within 5 minutes. This gives them an additional 10-15 minutes for them to check their work.
It is always important to avoid spending too much time on questions that seem challenging. You can skip it first and come back to it later.
CARELESS MISTAKES
Making careless mistakes during examination is a common problem that students are encountered with. This stems from various causes which includes,
- Failure to read the exam question properly
- Spending too much time on questions that are easy
- Improper allocation of time to the different sections of the exam paper
- Exam anxiety
- Misreading of question
Students end up making blunders like missing out units, leaving out important steps which can help gain method marks, making small calculation errors in the beginning of a multi-step answer and so on. It is crucial to check for such mistakes while solving the question and rechecking each answer before moving on to the next!