Mock transfer tests are a great way to prepare for the unknown of taking the transfer test. Sitting mock transfer tests is the most effective next step after they feel comfortable completing practice papers in school. The SEAG transfer test can be a big cause of worry and anxiety for some students. Pre-test jitters are normal for all students taking the transfer test. If your child is anxious about taking the tests at a different school, you’ll want to ease their nerves. I have just the thing to help. And that’s sitting mock SEAG transfer tests. This blog post is going to be all about the benefits of your child sitting mock transfer tests.
I am super excited to announce that I will be running mock SEAG transfer tests in July, August, September and October. These will be held in four centres across Lisburn and Hillsborough. These events will replicate the real SEAG transfer test from start to finish. Your child will even get a result including a Total Standardised Age Score (TSAS) and a Band! Spaces are limited and are filling up fast! So make sure you book your child a slot ASAP! Click here to see all of the available locations, dates and times!
What is mock testing?
Before we get started on the benefits of your child sitting a mock transfer test, let’s talk about what they are! Mock tests are tests that have been created to mirror the real testing experience. Your child will take a SEAG-style test at a different location, receiving a result. The experience, from drop-off to pick-up, closely mirrors the real test day.
Mock transfer test days can help students become as fully prepared as they can be for their real SEAG test days. Entering an assessment centre for the first time and leaving their family behind can feel daunting for students. But with prior experience, they’ll hopefully feel less anxious on the real test day.
Why am I running mock transfer tests?
Over my years of tutoring, I have noticed that some of my students became super anxious and worried about going to sit their transfer tests in a new school. Even though they have seen the school before, know where they are sitting, they still became worried and upset when the test days were coming up. Every student that I tutor goes to a different primary school. Each primary school completes transfer test NI practice papers in different ways. Some complete them in the classrooms, some complete them in the dinner halls or PE halls, and some don’t complete practice papers in school at all!
My goal for running these SEAG mock transfer tests is to help students throughout Northern Ireland be as prepared as they can be for test day. I also want them to feel happy and confident going into a new setting and to reduce those feelings of worry and anxiety over going into the SEAG assessment centres.
What are the benefits of sitting mock transfer tests?
There are a number of benefits for students to sit a mock transfer test. By sitting mock transfer tests, your child is going to be arriving at a new venue to sit a test, they will bring a pupil card with them, and they will be sitting with other students from different schools. This is exactly what they will be doing on the real test days, so you are giving them experience of this beforehand. Let’s talk about some of the other benefits of sitting the SEAG mock test days.
Desensitisation and Exposure
One of the main benefits is desensitisation and exposure. If you’ve purchased a copy of my book, ‘A Complete Guide on How to Prepare and Empower your Child for the SEAG Transfer Test,’ you’ll have read the chapter which I wrote in conjunction with my brother who is a Mental Health Trainer and Integrative Therapist on reducing test anxiety in your child. One of the tips that he gives is using desensitisation and exposure techniques. The main reason for this is so the unknown isn’t so unknown. The first mock test that your child sits will probably fill them with worry and nerves. But the second one won’t be as bad. The third will be even less worrying. The fourth and fifth time will just feel normal! By the time the real test day rolls around, they will hopefully be completely at ease going into the assessment centre.
Taking students out of their comfort zone
Another benefit of students sitting a mock transfer test is that they will be taken out of their comfort zone. At the moment, your child is probably sitting one or two tests a week in school and maybe has one for homework. Remember at the start how they were so stressed out about sitting the tests and worried? I bet those feelings are starting to pass now, and they are getting more and more used to it. They are becoming more comfortable with the practice tests, and while that is a good thing, we do need to keep the momentum going.
The next step is to take students out of their comfort zone and have them sit a practice test in a completely new setting! SEAG mock tests are perfect for this as they are in a completely different environment. Your child will have to travel to the centre on the morning of the test, find their seat, sit the test papers in a room with students from different schools, and this is exactly what is going to happen on the real test day.
Walkthrough of a SEAG transfer test mock day
The mock test experience will start with you and your child arriving at the assessment centre 10-15 minutes before the start time. Your child will be greeted by me or another friendly staff member. They will then go into the hall and find their designated seat. Once everyone is seated, I will give clear instructions on what happens next. I will also encourage all of the students to do their best. There will be no pressure, the atmosphere will be positive and motivating to help make your child feel at ease
We will start by completing the practice sections of the test together. This is exactly what will happen on the real test day. The test will then begin! I will be acting as the invigilator. Students will have one hour to complete the test. I will be calling out the different timings just as the invigilators will do on test day. For example, “There are 30 minutes left.” Once the test is finished, you can pick your child up at the assessment centre. Their results will be sent out within four days of them sitting the test.
When will the results be sent out?
I will send out your child’s result within 4 days of them completing the paper. This will be a replica of SEAG’s Statement of Outcomes. On your child’s Statement of Outcomes, you will see your child’s Total Standardised Age Score, English Standardised Age Score, Maths Standardised Age Score and a Band. To calculate these scores, I will be using the other students in the room to get an average and award your child a score depending on their age.
More information on SEAG mock transfer tests
7 Reasons Why Mock Exams are Super-Important
Mock Exams – why they are the key to exam success
Mock 11+ Exams – The Benefits of Sitting a Mock Exam
9 easy steps to complete your child’s transfer test application
Having your child sit mock SEAG tests can help boost their self-esteem while giving them a sneak peek of what the real test day will be like. You can book your child’s mock practice transfer test online by clicking here. The goal of these test days is to help students feel confident, comfortable and happy going into the real test days. The whole experience will be positive and encouraging. I hope your child enjoys it and comes out of their mock transfer tests smiling!
