How to Properly Prepare for a Math Exam

For many of us, studying can be a difficult endeavor and when it comes to high-pressure situations like exams, the stakes are higher and things get even more intense. Maths is typically one of the most challenging subjects to both learn and review, so it can be important to have the right tools at your disposal to get the best out of your efforts. With this in mind, let’s take a look at how to properly prepare for your upcoming maths exam.

The best ways to get prepared for your math exam

Considering there are a multitude of advantages to hiring a math tutor, it may be beneficial for you to start searching for a math tutor near me. Before moving forward, it is important to consider the following essential steps to ensure that you choose a teacher who aligns well with your child’s learning profile, availability, and budget.
Identify your stressors when learning math

Math is, student-by-student, the most anxiety-inducing subject on the curriculum for children and adults alike. It can be especially difficult to teach the often convoluted equations involved in standard lessons - and the more advanced things get, the more complicated it can be to fully understand the concepts involved. If you struggle with math, it can be a worthwhile idea to identify the exact areas that cause you issues. Some may not grasp the intricacies of specific formulas, whereas others may simply have a strong dislike of certain core subjects - but the fact of the matter is that if you find a workable solution, it can only have a positive impact.

Get active in your learning endeavors and take preparation to the classroom

You’ll likely know that it pays to be prepared - after all, that’s why you are studying in the first place. What you may not realize is that preparedness should start at the beginning. If you take extra steps to boost your everyday learning, there will likely be less information to revise overall (as you will have potentially mastered a wider range of topics). Whether you add tools to help you record information during classes, create a color-coded system for different subjects, or anything else in between, getting off on the right foot with learning from the very first class can serve you well for your future exams.

Increase comprehension

One of the tried and true methods of study is cramming and it can be a great way to get some worthwhile information in your brain fast. This may be the most widely-used study method, but you need to do more than simply reread your notes the night before your test and hope for the best. This is a short-term solution, so the top way to maximize potential is to interact and engage with your notes before you need them (this lends to our above point of prepping early).

To help with comprehension, actively take some time to write notes that make sense to you and record key pieces of information about how specific calculations work. Once you have the necessary info down, mark the standout pieces on the page so that they will catch your eye when searching for what to study. Whether you highlight these, write them in felt tip, put them in a red box, or use stickers or anything else - the idea is to be able to find them fast. When cramming, use these to create working examples that will help you to understand exactly what you need to do and increase comprehension, all while keeping things at the forefront of your brain.

Hire a math tutor

/This is a pretty obvious way to get better at math, but again, hiring the skills of a tutor could be better utilized before exam time rolls around (it can still be worthwhile last minute however, and you could take as little as 2-3 online lessons to give your knowledge a lift). If you’re tired of learning in the traditional way, an experienced tutor could give you a whole new perspective and offer new ways to approach the subjects that you find difficult, but their skills won’t stop at providing a tailored learning approach. The right tutor will provide a sounding board and a safe space to discuss the elements that you do and don’t understand, whereas a classroom environment may cause you to be shy (this could be a solution when referring to our top point of minimizing stressors, too).