How to Take This Test
You get 15 minutes for these 25 questions. That is the pace of the real Tier 1 Maths section, about 36 seconds a question, so you will need the fraction table and the quick methods as well as the full working. Easy conversions sit next to two-step election and savings questions, as they do in a real shift.
- Start a 15-minute timer and do all 25 in one go, with no pauses and no notes.
- A right answer gets +2, a wrong one −0.50 and a skipped one 0.
- Leave a long-looking question for the end. Getting stuck on one long election or spending question can cost you three quick ones.
- Open the explanations only when the time is up.
Your score. Score = 2 × (right answers) − 0.5 × (wrong answers), out of 50. So 19 right, 4 wrong and 2 skipped scores 38 − 2 = 36.
| Score out of 50 | What to do next |
|---|---|
| 40 or more | Percentage is a strength now. Do a PYQ set every week or two so the fraction table stays quick. |
| 30 to 39.5 | Look at where the marks went. A wrong base ("more than" turned round, or two changes added instead of multiplied) means Percentage Change and Successive Change; savings or price and consumption slips mean the Product Rule section. Redo that section's quiz. |
| 20 to 29.5 | You know the methods but they are slow. Learn the fraction table until it is automatic, work through Shortcuts & Speed Methods and Practice Sets 1 and 2, and take the test again in a few days. |
| Below 20 | Go back to the four topic sections, from Percentage Basics and Conversions to Applications: Elections, Exams, Spending and Mixtures, before more timed tests. Start with the first one, because election, savings and exam questions all depend on finding the whole quickly. |
More than 3 wrong answers usually means rushing, so slow down a little next time. On guessing, Chapter 0 works out that in Tier 1 a blind guess is very slightly in your favour on average (+0.125 marks), and once you can rule out even one option, a guess is clearly worth taking.