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QTS Maths and Literacy tests 2016

Hi There,

I have my tests at the end of the month, was wondering if anyone has any good tips or advice? I am finding both quite challenging!

Thanks

Ams

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Reply 1
Got 1st try at maths in the morning, just about to get my head down for it.

Literacy I passed 1st time, I dont have the link on my mobile but I found a good quiz site linked here was perfect for learning spellings. Going into both Ive treat the spelling/mental as highest priority as picking up solid scores there reduces stress on the rest of the test. Score around 10 in the mental maths section and you have loads of room for errors in the arguably easier written and data.

Ill post links when I get back tomorrow but im sure someone will beat me to it!
Reply 2
Cheers for that! 😀 Good luck!
Reply 3
Passed!

Pretty sure I got 11/12 on the Mental Arithmetic section which just set me up for the rest.

Links:
https://quizlet.com - Search for professional skills test/literacy and you should find plenty of quizzes with plenty of terms (the one I had, had around 300+ or so). It's really well laid out and lets you commit spellings to memory with ease after you stick at it for a little while, it will save your progress for next time as well.

http://www.numeracyready.co.uk/ - A lot of people swear by this but to be honest I think I wasted my money, the format just wasn't for me (you write your answers down and check them after). Saying that though the majority of people here do say it was a great help to them so if you think your maths needs a tune up it could be for you.

I guess my best advice is not to fall into the trap that you're not ready. I did the 1st numeracy practice paper and thought "I'm done for it's all over" but after reading up, watching a few youtube videos and the like you quickly start remembering how you did it all back at school and you will find you can answer the majority of it with no real issues.

Really hammer home on the spelling and mental arithmetic practice as those are the 1st sections in each test. Doing well in those fills you with confidence for the rest of the test.

Make sure you read questions extra carefully, today in the Numeracy test was 2 questions based on the same table. There was a lot of extra information in it irrelevant to the first question so if you incorporated it in your working out you would have come to the wrong answer.

Likewise with the spoken questions make sure to take a mental note of how many decimal places they ask for, or a whole number (one of the questions today asked for a time answer to the nearest quarter of an hour).

Best of luck!
Join these FB groups. They share questions and advice etc.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/qtsprofessionalskillstest
https://www.facebook.com/groups/QTStestsupport

The gov. website has the 4 free test papers and a big list of things you need to know/ mini revision guide.

This group might benefit you too.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/TeacherTraining1617/
Reply 5
Thanks Repbot for all the advice and congrats on passing! Findlay cheers for all the advice too! I am really dreading the maths one. Never been any good plus my mind doesn't answer maths questions in 18 secs! 🙈 @Repbot @Findlay6
(edited 7 years ago)
Hello,

Could anyone tell me what the tests like, do you get paper for the mental arithmetic ect..

Lisa
Reply 7
Hi Lisa,

Yes you will be given a piece of A4 paper along with a pen in both the numeracy and literacy tests. I'm unsure if you can ask for more before hand so it's worth when practicing the mental arithmetic to keep it to 1 A4 (both sides). The computers are as standard as can be, mouse, keyboard, headphones and monitor - the test will not begin until you press the button so you can take some time to layout the desk and paper in front of you to feel comfortable before starting, it's especially worth making sure the headphones feel snug and comfy on your head (they can be tightened/slackened).

If you've had a go at the online practice papers the format and layout is exactly the same - you will be asked at the end of the test to complete some additional questions (for future tests) that have zero bearing on your mark. You can simply skip them if you just wish to leave and get your result.

All the best!
Reply 8
Does anyone know how i can view my results from my numeracy skills test? I know that i passed but is there any way i could see by how much as in percentage wise?


Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by Ddssm
Does anyone know how i can view my results from my numeracy skills test? I know that i passed but is there any way i could see by how much as in percentage wise?


Posted from TSR Mobile


No, your provider should be able to see your scores though.
Reply 10
ImageUploadedByStudent Room1460361694.257332.jpg
Does anyone know if this is just a free attempt or an additional retake on top


Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by Faye2109
ImageUploadedByStudent Room1460361694.257332.jpg
Does anyone know if this is just a free attempt or an additional retake on top


Posted from TSR Mobile


From reading your email, it seems to me that it's a free retake for you due to the problems that occurred on your last test.

For people needing help with numeracy, this website is a great help for both parts of the test. It goes through step by step each question, explaining the key points you need to pick out to answer the questions.
http://www.qtsmathstest.com/qts-maths-test-practice/

Good luck to everyone who are taking the tests!
Hi all,

I just took the QTS Literacyand Numeracy test and passed both (1st attempt).

For the spellingsection; I’ve got a list of words which are most likely to come out (8 of whichcame up for me) - Pls inbox me and I can that sent across to you

Punctuation; i didover punctuate but contrary to what others say, your allowed to over punctuate

Grammar was veryinterested but not too difficult
Comprehension; MyGod was the text loooong, take your time, i requested more paper and each paragraphi read, i wrote a quick one-line summary of what’s going on.For the Numeracytest:

The first thing idid was quickly write down my 9 and 12 times table as these are really hard forme and converted 1/8 into a percentage 12.5% … 3/8 into percentage 37.5% … etc

Then i tried to juststay calm throughout the mental bit and use each second to double check meanswer.
For the secondsection, when reading the graphs, i zooooomed in using the keyboard ... Pleasedo this people.

Anyway, that’s mythoughts on the QTS test, feel free to ask any question!
Reply 13
Hey! Good luck!
Reply 14
I passed my numeracy last night and my literacy a few weeks ago. Passed both first time.

The only advice I can give is practice practice practice. When I started practising I only got 11% but then practised some more and went 22%, 40%, 68%, 90%. Also know your 7 times table - there's a video on youtube from the actual ITT organisation that specifically says 7 times tables will come up in the test.

If you can, try to jot down the numbers asap so you can start calculating whilst the problem is being read out the second time.

Keep your eye on the clock in the second part, I ran out of time. Use flags and come back to questions if needed. If you struggle with a question whatever you do, don't leave it blank at least if you pick one of the four you have a 25% chance of passing.

I didn't really practice the literacy one the only thing I can really suggest is with the punctuation - if in doubt, punctuate.
Does anyone know the percentage pass marks? So when I'm doing practise tests I kinda know how close I am? Thanks!
Reply 16
Hello all,

I took the literacy (paper based) and passed it. I found out two days after taking it that I had passed. I took the math test on Monday the 25th (paper based), I've not heard back yet. I don't think I did well at all and my ITT provider has put extra pressure by not allowing me to take my two additional attempts if I fail. What a shame! 😭

On another note, the test was nothing, and I mean nothing at all like the practice tests I'd been working on. There was no cumulative frequency, no box plots aka cat and whisker diagrams no pie charts. There was a floating graph that I had never come across. I know I just bombed. 😞 None of the English teachers I've met have used any of the mathematics on the test after becoming teachers.
Reply 17
Original post by KatyPiee
Does anyone know the percentage pass marks? So when I'm doing practise tests I kinda know how close I am? Thanks!


You need to pass by 63%. 💜
Im intrested in becoming a primary school teacher, would anyone like to share their as and a level grades and what uni they are going to?
Reply 19
I wish I'd read this before taking the maths as I stupidly left loads of questions unanswered! 💜

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