Yass!! Exams are finally over and so will school as well. There’s one last matter to attend to – showing your parents your final assessment report and getting them signed.

Whether you and your parents are happy with your results, view this as an opportunity to get feedback on how you’ve been doing academically. Here are our top 3 tips on how you should interpret the assessments vis-à-vis your performance, how you’ve been progressing and setting goals for the next school year.

1. Assess Your Scores

Parents (and many schoolmates) often see an Achievement Level (AL) of grades 4 to 6 as a sign that you are struggling. But more importantly, look at how you fared in comparison to your classmates. Though AL grades are supposed to reflect how you did relative to your previous work and should not be used for comparisons between individuals, they can be a good gauge. You may have cause for concern if everyone else is getting AL 7s or 8s. Conversely, an AL4 may be great if the rest of the class is getting AL5s.

Get feedback

Your peers may be reluctant to talk about their grades. Take the opportunity to ask your various subject teachers for a consultation session to get their feedback on how they think you’ve done. Perhaps you’re always falling asleep in class. Or perhaps the assessments were set at a high standard. If you are honest with yourself about wanting to improve, your teachers will undoubtedly want to share their perspectives with you. Don’t forget to ask them for advice on how you can make up for any shortcomings and what you can do to prepare for next year’s curriculum.

Alternatively, if you attend a tuition class, ask your tutor for an assessment of how you did. Good tutors work closely with you in your learning, and often, they can provide the best tips for improvement.

2. Formulate a game plan

Look at the different areas/subjects that you did/did not do well in. Be honest in your self-reflection and think about what you can do and how to incorporate feedback from your respective teachers as well. At this stage, it’s a good idea to involve your parents in the process as it helps them to determine and understand that you are now developing. a sense of ownership and responsibility for your academic work.

Here are some questions you may want to consider:

• • Are you satisfied with your grades?
  • Do you think you could have done better?
  • Did you allocate sufficient time for revision?
    Most of your peers start to prepare only a few days before, but high-performers tend to revise consistently.
  • What did you do well this time that contributed to good or improved grades?
  • What can you do differently next year to boost their scores further?

Creating the action plan

Consider your self-reflection and your teachers’ feedback. If necessary, ask your parents for their help and guidance to create an action plan that has concrete and achievable steps for the holidays and the new academic year. It can be as simple as a schedule or as advanced as a Gantt chart to detail the steps necessary. Focus on strengthening your foundation in certain problem-solving and writing skills or revising specific topic areas that you can improve.

Get a headstart

Take the time to work on weaknesses, as each year’s academic syllabus tends to build on the content and skills of the previous. Alternatively, get a head-start on the next year’s curriculum to ease your learning curve when school comes around again.

3. Enjoy the well-deserved break

Ultimately, every academic year is another step forward in your long education journey. Allow yourself time to get some rest during the December holiday break too. But don’t let your books get dusty. Work in revision time or study ahead to ensure you are in the best place to be able to hit the ground running come January!

Our programs at Elucidation Learning are built around this principle — students are sorted by ability into small classes. We also have individualized consultation sessions available. Depending on your preference, these different options will help build an environment that best suits the individual needs of your child.

For a free assessment of your child’s work, make an appointment with Elucidation Learning. You can drop in at one of our centre locations and speak to us. Alternatively, call us at +65.6464-0323 or Whatsapp us at +65.9738-8529. We can help your child work on their weaknesses this holiday and give them a head-start for the new academic year!