For most students, the first thing they do after getting back a test is to find out how many marks they got. Did I pass? Is it an ‘A’? Did the examiner tally the marks correctly?
While these are all normal reactions and things you SHOULD definitely do when you get back a test paper, it shouldn’t stop there. While many students will forget about the exam paper after they have seen their grades (and, perhaps, get a parent’s signature on it), you are losing a golden opportunity to learn and get feedback on your work if you don’t take time to review your test paper carefully.
So, what exactly should you be doing to make the most of your marked test? We highly recommend you go through these steps!
1. Do your corrections
In school, your teacher will usually go through the paper in class and get all students to do their corrections. Don’t treat this as just another task to do – but as a learning opportunity! Your teacher will share common mistakes made by students who took the test, as well as important elements that are needed to score higher marks. These might be certain keywords that must be included (especially for science subjects), or certain workings you need to show (for math subjects).
As you do your corrections, take note of these important areas highlighted by your teacher. You can take notes separately of what examiners are looking out for in good answers, and try to include them next time in your answers.
2. Review your paper with your tutor
Most teachers don’t have time to go through students’ papers individually. However, everyone’s performance is different and you may have specific issues that the teacher could not address in class. Thus, you will benefit even more if you can schedule an individual consultation with your teacher or a private tutor to go through your answers with you.
Your tutor can identify key trends in the test paper and provide tips on how you can improve moving forward. As this is an individual consultation, you will get feedback that will definitely be relevant to you and this will help you focus on the areas you need the most work in.
3. Take note of areas for improvement
After reviewing your paper in class and with your tutor, it’s easy to forget what you talked about if there were many points discussed. Condense the most important areas for improvement and write them down. These would be the areas that caused you to lose the most marks, rather than small, one-off mistakes that are comparatively insignificant.
4. Set follow-up action plans
Don’t sit on your mistakes and commit them again in the next test! Now that you know which areas you need to improve in, set a plan to work on them. If it is a particular topic you are still unsure about, schedule more study time to work on those topics or consult your tutor to clarify your doubts. If it is a particular skill or question type you have not mastered, find similar practice questions and do them until you understand how to do them well.
Having a tutor is good for this purpose as they can help you follow-up and track your progress moving onwards from the test. Our tutors at Future Academy would also be able to select and dispense suitable practice questions according to the students’ needs, helping them improve rapidly in their weaker areas.
Conclusion
Getting back a test paper should never be the end of the journey. While you can most definitely reward yourself for your efforts and take a break after the test, you should not pass on this opportunity to figure out how you can further improve your understanding and grades.
If you haven’t gotten into this habit of reviewing your test papers and if you don’t have a tutor to guide you, our tutors at Future Academy can help! Get the opportunity to consult our expert JC Math tutors and JC Physics tutors when you enrol in our tuition courses. Besides regular lessons and timed practices, our tutors can also review your school tests with you and provide personalised feedback to point you in the right direction.