At NumberWorks’nWords we understand that ICAS tests are often the first external exams that students sit, so they can be quite daunting. Nerves can prevent your child from concentrating and performing at their best.
Our individualised tutoring programmes are designed to identify and address literacy and numeracy gaps, so children can feel more confident about sitting the ICAS tests. We can also help with any concerns you might have about the results.
If you are interested in ICAS tutoring for your child, book a free assessment today. We will address the gaps in your child’s learning by teaching the missing content. We also help students to practise past ICAS questions and develop confidence, speed and accuracy. Our students make progress because our programs are individually tailored to each student’s needs.
ICAS stands for International Competitions and Assessments for Schools. Run by the University of New South Wales for more than 30 years, it’s an optional skills-based assessment programme for primary and secondary students.
All ICAS tests have a multiple-choice answer format. They’re available in reading, writing, spelling, English, maths, science and digital technologies.
ICAS tests are not compulsory and many New Zealand schools don’t offer them to their students. The schools that do use ICAS tend to offer them to more able students only. It’s often seen as a chance for students to practise a formal external exam.
If a student sits the ICAS examples multiple times in one year, it can show their progress in the skills tested. Some schools use it as part of their reporting each year, celebrating the external recognition of their high achievers.
The ICAS tests can give you and your child a measure of their achievement in an external testing situation. The results also provide a comparison to the students who sat from the rest of their year level - not just within their school, but across the whole country.
ICAS may also add to your understanding of your child’s strengths and weaknesses, within the skills tested. With our ICAS maths and English tutoring, we can support your child’s progress and confidence with the ICAS.
ICAS provides detailed individual reporting, in hard copy and online. Summary results are shown for every skill area in the tests your child sat. You can even get down to the detail of what answer your child chose for each question and what the correct answer was. For many parents, the amount of information can be a bit overwhelming. Linking the ICAS skill areas back to specific topics in the New Zealand curriculum and knowing how to improve where it may be required can also be a challenge for children and their parents.
We can help you interpret ICAS reports and we offer a free maths and/or English assessment for your child with a trained educator.
We’ll discuss the results with you and make recommendations for the next steps. We’ll also give your child a free introductory lesson so they can try some NumberWorks’nWords lessons supported by one of our tutors.
Is your child struggling to keep up with schoolwork? Are they falling behind? Are they bored in class? Or are you looking for extension work for your child?
Check out our eBook to learn more about how we help children improve academically and build confidence through our in centre after school tuition.
A NumberWorks'nWords FREE assessment for ICAS tutoring will provide you with valuable insight into how your child is performing.
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