How to Prepare Your Child for the NAPLAN Numeracy Test
With NAPLAN testing moving to Term One, the NAPLAN numeracy testing is right around the corner! There are many learning strategies and exam tips that can help you ace your NAPLAN numeracy test. NAPLAN can often be overwhelming for young students. This blog will demonstrate simple skills that are easy to learn and effective when implemented. Moreover, these tips and strategies are foundational to student success moving forward. They provide your child with a platform to find approaches that work for them and help reduce the stress surrounding NAPLAN testing.
What Is NAPLAN?
The ‘National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN)’ is an annual assessment for students in Years 3, 5, 7, and 9. It is the only nationwide testing process that all Australian students undertake. Government education services have designed NAPLAN to measure literacy and numeracy skills that underpin further learning. The testing allows for critical understanding of student’s progression throughout primary and secondary education streams, informs school performance, teaching, and learning.
For more in depth information about NAPLAN testing, read out article: What Is NAPLAN? The Ultimate NAPLAN Guide for Parents
How You Can Help Your Child Prepare for the NAPLAN Maths Test
These tips and strategies are invaluable to your child’s success in NAPLAN numeracy tests. Consistently implementing these tips will help your child build healthy study habits and foster long-term success.
1. Keep Track of Your Child’s Progress
It is important for you, as a parent, to be engaged with your child’s progress in their numeracy studies. Kathleen Cotton states that “research overwhelmingly demonstrates that parent involvement in children’s learning is positively related to achievement.” Numeracy can often be confusing when explained. Reading your child’s reports, communicating with teachers, and/or being actively involved in their learning process can help alleviate this confusion. Consistent engagement allows for timely support and an understanding of where they may need further encouragement or assistance.
2. Encourage Your Child to Do Practice Tests
Practice tests are an extremely important part in preparing for the NAPLAN numeracy exam. Studies show that completing practice tests can help achieve greater test results. Firstly, practice exams can highlight gaps in knowledge. Practice tests allow for you, your child, and their support team, to understand where they are most struggling and then focus study time in these areas. Practice tests also provide an opportunity for students to implement learnt knowledge. This is critical to retain and apply information. Finally, practice tests can help students gain understanding of the format and timing of the test. When your child comes to complete their NAPLAN numeracy test, they will be familiar with its layout, the style of questions and how they must manage their time. Thus, completing practice exams are a vital tool in NAPLAN preparation.
3. Explore Different Maths Study Approaches
Every child has a unique way they best learn. Your child must find ways in which they best remember, understand, and implement information. A Team Tuition refers to this as your child’s ‘learning language’. To help your child discover their ‘learning language’, we must encourage their individual expression. This could include a greater focus on aural learning by reading and responding to cue cards. It could implement visual exam preparation by drawing diagrams or mind-maps. By fostering learning languages, you can assist your child in developing learning strategies that both resonate and excite them.
4. Get a Maths Tutor
Having one-to-one support in the form of a tutor can be an invaluable resource in preparing your child for their NAPLAN numeracy test. Tutors can help investigate where your child most needs support. Unlike a classroom, tutors are not restricted by large class numbers and thus can spend greater time thoroughly explaining content and understanding your child’s specific needs. If you are looking for this extra support for your child, at A Team Tuition we can help you find a maths tutor that is a good fit for your child’s personality and learning language
5. Give Your Child Emotional Support
It is important to provide your child with the necessary emotional support for them to succeed in their NAPLAN numeracy test. Whilst we all want our children to succeed, our eagerness can often lead to demotivation. Just as parents do, children need times to rest, recover and enjoy life surrounding study. As parents, we must aim to ensure our children maintain proper sleep, healthy eating habits and regular breaks from study. This can support stress relief, whilst allowing for greater motivation in their chosen study periods. Balance is just as significant to your child’s success in NAPLAN numeracy as their study.
Need a Helping Hand with the NAPLAN Numeracy Test?
NAPLAN numeracy can be challenging for many students and academic success does not happen overnight. Thus, it is important as parents to be resilient and consistent in our support. This blog has outlined many proven strategies that parents can implement to assist our students in achieving exam success. Yet external resources can also play a critical role in fostering student’s study habits and patterns. This can include promoting your child to ask for a teacher’s help, form a study group with friends, or working with a private tutor. The combined effort of both internal and external resources will help ensure your child’s success and confidence in NAPLAN’s annual numeracy assessment.
Looking to help your child with their NAPLAN numeracy test? A Team Tuition is here to help. With our tried and true tutoring methods, we can help your child excel at numeracy with our at-home and online tutoring. Find a tutor near you today!