What your child's score alone doesn't tell you

Two children, one score

Imagine two children who each score 60% on an OC practice test. On a results page that shows only a score, they look identical. SPOILER: they’re not!

The first child finished with ten minutes to spare because they skipped the three questions they found hard, guessed at two more and never went back to check. The second child used every second and didn’t reach the last four questions. Same score, opposite problems.

What a single number hides

A test score is a summary, and a summary hides two things you need to know to improve your score for next time.

First, it hides which categories. In Mathematical Reasoning, for example, a question about sharing a cake between friends could be about fractions, while a question about cubes is 3D spatial reasoning. In Thinking Skills, working out who must be lying is deductive reasoning and picking the odd shape out is visual spatial reasoning. A 70% in a section is rarely spread evenly across all categories. When you can categorise every question on every test, it's clear which categories are strong and which need improvement.

It's important to note that the categories are not equally weighted on the real test. We've analysed the questions of past papers in detail and our Sharp Minds Clubs tests are built to the same mix. This weighting also comes into play when we generate our custom weekly plans, so that time is spent in the areas that will most improve the score.

Second, it hides how the time was used. We have had thousands of full practice tests sat on the platform. About a fifth of children score 85% or higher. The rest average around 55%, and that group splits almost exactly in half. Half finish early, hand in with time on the clock and get about half the questions wrong because they are rushing, skipping or guessing. The other half use every minute, work hard and run out of road. The first is a pacing problem. The second is a skills gap. To tell them apart, you need to see pacing on each question and each test.

Back to the two children

The first child is rushing. They need to work on pacing: learning what the clock is for, attempting every question and going back to check. Until that is fixed, their score says very little about their skills, because half the wrong answers were never really attempted. The second child is out of time. Their work is one specific category, most likely one of the heavily tested ones, until it is fast enough that they reach the last question.

Same score. Two completely different plans. If all you had was the score, you would give them the same plan, and one of them would spend the next month practising the wrong thing.

That is what Sharp Minds Club is built to show. Every test runs on the real clock and reports time used question by question. Every result is broken down by category, weighted the way the real test is, and the weekly plan is built from that breakdown, so practice goes where it will move the score. Parents can see exactly what is happening without having to become the project manager.

So, whatever you and your child are using to prep for the OC and Selective tests, make sure you understand what the score means. This is what allows you to spend your time most effectively to improve the next time.