I′m so grateful for this book, which was invaluable for passing the skills test and made it much less intimidating. It explained each component of the test clearly and concisely so that I knew what to expect, taking me through the key knowledge and skills needed for each part and using language that was easy to follow. The example questions helped me identify areas to work on and were great practice to build my confidence.
-Ruth Makoff, PGCE (Secondary) Teacher Trainee All applicants to Initial Teacher Training in England need to PASS the QTS Numeracy Skills Test before starting their course. The test is designed to ensure trainee teachers have a sound grasp of numeracy skills such as mental arithmetic and interpreting statistics and how to apply these in practice. This popular and widely recommended book outlines all of the requirements of the QTS Numeracy Skills Test, explains the essential subject knowledge candidates need and includes practice questions for test preparation.
This sixth edition, written by one of the authors of the test itself, is updated throughout and includes a full practice test, more practice questions and more question and answer commentary. It is more than a collection of practice questions. It includes advice, tips, test commentary and guidance to help you pass first time.
It helps you to:
- familiarise yourself with the skills and knowledge to be tested
- fully understand the format and structure of the numeracy skills test
- know what to expect on the day of the test
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
This book is divided in to six chapters.
Chapter 1: this very short chapter has been included to remind you of the basic arithmetic processes. The majority of you will be able to miss this unit out, but some may welcome a chance to revise fractions, decimals, percentages, etc.
Chapters 2-4: these cover the three ′content′ areas (see above), one area per chapter.
Chapter 5: this includes a practice mental arithmetic test, and a full practice onscreen test for you to work through.
Chapter 6: this contains answers and key points for all the questions in the main chapters and for the sample tests.
In each chapter, the additional required knowledge, language and vocabulary are explained, and worked examples of the type of questions to be faced are provided together with the practice questions. The answers for these questions are given in Chapter 6, together with further advice and guidance on solutions.
Revision checklists
You can use the checklists in your revision to make sure that you have covered all the key content areas.
Mark Patmore is a former senior lecturer in mathematical education in the School of Education at Nottingham Trent University and currently an associate lecturer at the University of Derby. He has also worked in teacher education with Bishop Grosseteste University and with training providers and provided subject knowledge courses for intending teachers of mathematics.
