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Using Mathematics Monthly Achievement Tests (MMAT) as a
Diagnostic Tool
Each issue of MMAT
can be used to assess your child’s mastery of topics in Mathematics shown in the
Contents.
Your child’s ability may be diagnosed as one of the following:
Very
weak, Weak, Average, Good, Very Good, and Excellent.
A child who obtains a very low
score in Basic Exercise is probably very weak in the topics
specified.
Recommendations:
-
Skip Advanced and Non-Routine Exercises as the
difficulty levels in these exercises are not relevant to him at this stage.
-
Let him try these exercises after he has mastered Basic Exercise
followed by Intermediate Exercise.
-
One-to-One teaching if possible. (Until your child
has mastered Basic Exercise and feels confident in the subject.)
-
Identify specific weakness using items in Basic Exercise. Examples, using P6 Jan MMAT:
If he cannot do Q1 and Q2 in Basic Exercise:
Assess him further using diagrams
similar to those in Q1 and Q2. If he cannot write simple algebraic expressions
for such diagrams, he may not have the basic concept of algebra. Carry out
remedial lessons to teach basics in algebra before he attempts other questions
on algebra in the Jan booklet.
A child who obtains an
average score in Basic/Foundation Exercise is probably
weak in the topics
specified.
Recommendations:
-
Skip Advanced and Non-Routine Exercises as the
difficulty levels in these exercises are not relevant to him at this stage.
-
Let him try these exercises after he has mastered
Basic Exercise followed by Intermediate Exercise.
-
Small-group
teaching, with attention paid to individual needs.
Identify
specific weakness using items in Basic Exercise.
A child who obtains a
good score in Basic Exercise but a low score in Intermediate Exercise is
probably average in the topics
specified.
Generally, a child in this category has mastered
the basic concepts of the topics specified.
Recommendations:
-
The child can be groomed to obtain
better scores in Maths by practising more higher-order questions
-
(As in Intermediate, Advanced and Non-Routine Exercises).
-
Average-sized
group-teaching.
-
Identify
specific weakness using items in P6 Jan MMAT. Example:
If he can do Q20 and Q23 of Basic Exercise but
cannot do Q5, Q13 and Q14 of Intermediate Exercise:
He may not be very clear about terminologies such
as sum and product. Explain the meanings of such terminologies to him and
impress upon him that he must remember their meanings.
scores well
in Basic as well as Intermediate Exercises but not in Advanced Exercise is
probably
good in Maths and can be groomed to score
A or A* in Maths. Generally, he is interested in Maths.
Recommendation:
-
May be taught in a large-group
setting.
-
Exposed him to higher-order
questions (as in Advanced and Non-Routine Exercises) more frequently.
-
Identify
specific weakness using items in P6 Jan MMAT. Example:
If the child scores well in Basic and
Intermediate Exercises but not in Advanced Exercise,
he may have difficulty presenting worked solutions. Teach him how to present
worked solutions systematically.
scores well
in Basic, Intermediate as well as Advanced Exercises but not in the Non-Routine
Exercise is probably very good
in Maths. Generally, he has a naturally high interest and ability in Maths and
is expected to score A or A* in the PSLE.
Recommendations:
A child who scores high
in all 4 Exercises is probably excellent in Maths.
-
If he scores well in all subjects
in the school, he is likely to be an all-rounder and is generally very confident
of himself.
-
However, he should be taught not to be
over-confident or snobbish.
-
Furthermore, it may be necessary to teach
him how to handle failure, which may be an alien experience for him.
-
If he scores high in
Maths but not in other subjects, he may be subject-biased and will usually do
better academically in Secondary school after being streamed into the stream
that studies mainly Maths and Physics. He may have a natural aptitude for
courses such as Engineering.
-
If he is very good with Non-Routine
Exercise but does not score well in Maths tests and exams in schools, he may be
careless or does not conform to requirements in examinations by presenting his
worked solutions properly. Impress upon him that presenting worked solutions
systematically is an important communication process.
Notes:
A child
in the Very good
and
Excellent
categories
should:
1. Also attempt Basic and Intermediate Exercises as the bulk of the
questions in the PSLE paper fall within these levels of difficulties.
2. Be trained to complete sums accurately and quickly so that he has more
time to complete sums in the Challenging and Non-Routine levels.
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