We are always looking at ways to make Big River Academy even better for our students. One big change we’ve made is adding math to our curriculum. We want to be a one-stop shop for anyone who is looking for a full curriculum for their homeschooler. Adding math this year was essential to achieve that. We also know that many families struggle to find math lessons with support from an outside source; for parents who aren’t math whizzes, teaching higher-level math is daunting. We want to help in that area.
Unlike other subjects, math sometimes needs constant correction as students begin practicing skills. Without an instructor, many children would not get past certain roadblocks in their learning. With our live classes, our students have a real instructor right there with them as they begin working on skills, and since our math classes meet twice a week, students have more opportunities to have access to their instructors.
We’re excited about these changes and being able to offer math classes for our students. We know that math can be a struggle for some students. So, we’ve put together the following list of tips to help students study and prepare for a math test.
Have A Routine
The easiest way to study for a math test is to do it often — often enough that you don’t have to cram right before the exam. Studying and learning as you go will make your life so much easier. When you know there is a test coming, ramping up your study the week before is a good idea. We know cramming is part of the deal for many students. But it is best to not make that a common practice.
Get Your Rest
It is important to get a good night of rest the night before your math test. This will help you perform your best when you are taking the test. Sleep helps with cognition and memory. It helps to recharge your brain. And it is vital for your mental and physical health and reducing stress. All of these factors will help you to do your best on the test.
Make A List
Hopefully, you have a good amount of notes to help you study for a math test. If so, we suggest reviewing those notes and making a complete list of the most important formulas and concepts that you’ll be using to answer questions on your test. This will help you to focus on the important things that you need to remember and know how to use.
Do Your Homework — Again
Nobody wants to do their homework twice. We get it. But when it comes to math, it is really helpful. Instead of just reading over the homework problems, work them again. This will help you with each step of the problem. It also helps to hide the answers when you are doing them the second time. You can also find additional problems to practice on and the end of the chapter in most math books.
Look For Identifiers
When you are doing homework, you know what the problems and formulas are designed to teach you. This doesn’t always happen on a test. But you can look for signals that will help you understand the direction the test question is trying to take you. So when you are studying for a math test, look for those signals in your homework assignments so you’ll recognize them on the test.
Practice Tests
The more you do something the better you get at it, right? This goes for your math test as well. You can select some problems from your homework or textbook and create your own practice test. Work the problems just like you would on a test — no book, no notes, and have a time limit.
3 Day Preparation
Here is a great method that will help you learn how to study for a math test.
Three days before the test, study the vocabulary you’ll need to know for the test. You should also do some practice problems — we recommend the ones that you had trouble with in your homework. Don’t spend more than an hour.
Two days before the test, do another quick review of the vocabulary and try a few more practice problems. Only spend about 45 minutes on this.
The day before your math test, do one more vocabulary review and do one problem from each section or chapter that is going to be covered on the test. The suggested time is 30 minutes.
Now, on the day of the test, you should be ready to earn that A!
Mistakes To Avoid On Your Math Test
No matter how much you have studied or how prepared you are, there are some simple mistakes that many students make that lead to wrong answers on their math tests. Here are 5 things you need to avoid on your next exam.
- Read the directions. Carefully. In fact, read them twice just to make sure you know exactly what each question is asking you.
- Neat handwriting. When students get in a hurry their writing can get a little sloppy. If your 6 looks like an 8, you are sure to get the problem wrong. Or if your digits aren’t lined up exactly, it can lead to a wrong answer too.
- Learn the vocabulary. It is very common for students to get off track because they aren’t sure about the meaning of a word in the question. For example, you’ll want to be sure you know the difference between “sum” and “product” in order to do work the problem correctly.
- Do your homework. Completing your math homework regularly will be your best way to be ready to ace your math test.
- Nail the basics. Mistakes on basic math facts like addition, multiplication, etc must be avoided to get your answers right.
Big River Academy
We love what we do at Big River Academy. We are so excited about our brand new math curriculum and hope these tips will be useful for the next time you study for a math test. If you have any questions feel free to email us or message us on social media. Make sure to like our Facebook page and follow us on Instagram and YouTube to keep up with the excitement at Big River Academy.
