If you’re in your 5th year, you might have heard about the mock exams. If you haven’t, you will soon get familiar with them as you will have to take the test yourself.
In the UK or in any country where you are going for a grammar school admission, you might have to sit for the mock exams before the final 11 plus exam.
For many students in the UK, the 11 Plus is the first big test that they have ever faced. It can be very challenging, especially if the students don’t know what to expect.
What Is A Mock Test?
A mock test is a sample exam paper that could be taken before the official exams by most schools. It is a test that is based on the format of the final exam that the students need to prepare for and eventually appear in. You can check more sample exams at Exam Papers Plus online
Thus, mock tests act as practice tests before the official exam. It allows the students to access their preparation and see what grade they can get. It is important that before you give the mock test you have covered most of the content of the test to make full use of the practice mock tests.
Why Should You Take A Mock Test?
Taking a mock test has many benefits that can really help you improve the final marks on your 11-plus exam.
What to Expect
Giving the mock examination, the students are able to understand the paper pattern and types of questions and learn time management during the test. Since the test is based on the final exam, the students become more aware of what they might expect on the question paper on the test day.
Some students really struggle with this on the test day especially if they have not given the exam before. Even though they might have learned all the content of the test, they might struggle while completing the test in due time, or they might not know exactly the correct pattern of answering certain questions. All this causes them to lose confidence during the exam and their final grade may suffer due to their lack of practice.
Confidence
The mock exam is a practice test and based on the pattern of the final exam that is why giving the mock exam will increase your confidence on the test day. Mock examinations are held by most schools to test the students on their preparation so that they have more than a month to study any areas they have missed and correct their concepts if they do badly on the test.
The mock exams are held just like the final exam, where students are made to take the test with the same time limit as the actual test. This gives the students a chance to overcome the anxiety and uneasiness on the final exam day as they would have been in a similar setting while giving the mock exam.
Thus, it instills confidence and lifts the morale of the students on the test day, and they are able to get better marks.
Correction
Since the mock exams start before the test date, it gives the students plentiful time to correct any areas where they lack. Even though, leading up to the mock exam, you must be fully prepared as you might not know what can be on the test as all the content is included; you need to fully study and prepare for the mock exam just like you will prepare for the final exam to give it your best shot.
Once you have given the test, you will learn a great deal about where you stand. The marks on the mock exam tell you if you need to study harder or concentrate on specific areas; it helps you recognize your weaknesses and then timely take the necessary action and consult your teachers if you need any extra help.
Moreover, since the test is checked by your teachers, they can guide you better on what you need to do to achieve your target result.
However, the mock exam does not indicate that the questions on the exam will be on the final test; it is just for practice and gives you a rundown on what to expect. Similarly, whatever marks you get on the mock exam do not mean that you will get the same marks on the final test.
So if you fail to score your target marks on the mock you don’t need to panic, instead focus on where you lack to fix it and make the most out of the time that you have left to prepare for the final test.
Is A Mock Test A Past Paper?
Past papers are all the previous 11 plus that were held up until the current year. They are important as they are, in fact, built on the same curriculum as the 11 plus that you are going to give, so what better way to familiarize you with the test than the previous tests? These past papers are excellent to use alongside other exam materials to practice for the final test.
It is true that past papers are the best way to practice for the test since they are real exam papers that were used in previous years. However, as the exam board changes the tests every year, they might not be a guaranteed way to practice for the final test, or at least they should not be the only source of practice that you rely on.
Depending on the level of difficulty they want to test their students on, schools make up a mock exam on the same curriculum as the 11-plus test.
This is a great way by which teachers can test the student’s skills and track their progress by giving them a preview of the exam that they will give. If the students pass the mock exam and are able to get good marks, then that means they are well-prepared for the final test.
Finally!
Thus, in order to make sure that schools access the children in the best way they can before they appear for the 11 plus, mock exams are held.
However, if you still think you need more practice, then you should check out the exam paper plus, where they have practice tests available that go through verification to make sure they are a reliable source and up to the curriculum of the test to help you practice for your big exam and ace it!
