Part I
Preparing for Your Numeracy Test
In this part . . .
Whatever kind of numeracy test youâre taking, you need a solid plan of action for studying and for doing well in the exam. These chapters give you an idea of what each type of numeracy test involves, ways you can organise yourself to give yourself the best chance, and suggestions for how to handle exam day so you can make the most of your time in the test.
Chapter 1
Getting Started
In This Chapter
Before you really get stuck into this book, I want to ask you a favour, especially if youâre someone who often says âIâm no good at mathsâ or âMaths scares the beejeezus out of meâ.
Iâd like you to start talking positively about maths. I donât mean you have to say âIâm a super-genius and Iâm going to win the next series of Countdown!â (although thatâs not a bad ambition). Whenever youâre next tempted to say âIâm no good at maths,â say something different. Here are some ideas:
âI used to struggle with maths, but Iâm putting that right.â
âIâm much better at maths than I thought.â
âIâm working on my maths skills.â
It sounds crazy, but it makes a big difference to the way you approach studying. Iâm convinced that the reason people tend to have a bad day on Mondays is that theyâve decided that Monday is going to be a bad day â and the same thing happens with maths.
This book can help you make those positive statements true. I help you build your maths confidence and skills so that you can sail through any numeracy test that gets thrown at you.
In this chapter, I run you through what numeracy is, which organisations ask you to take numeracy tests and how the tests are structured.
Covering the Basics
You may have a mental image of a mathematician â enormous forehead, crazy hair, thick glasses, tweed jacket over a tasteless shirt with pens neatly arranged in the breast pocket, gibbering manically away at a blackboard covered in crazy equations.
Actually, I do know mathematicians like that â but weâre not all so poorly adjusted. Being good at maths doesnât automatically turn you into a socially awkward egghead.
Thatâs not the only good news: youâre also excused from having to understand all those crazy equations. Thereâs virtually no algebra in the numeracy curriculum (just a few simple formulas). All you need to be able to do is:
Add, take away, divide and multiply confidently. If you can do all of these, youâre going to rock. If not, youâre still going to rock, but you may want to spend some time getting a solid foundation in place.
Figure out the right sum to do. This can be tricky, but if you can keep a clear head and think through what the question is asking, it will make sense in the end. Promise.
Make sense of measures. âMeasureâ doesnât just mean being able to use a ruler, although thatâs a good starting point. Itâs also about weighing, taking temperatures, telling the time and working with shapes. There are a few simple formulas you may need to know for area and volume.
Read and understand graphs and basic statistics. Once you âgetâ graphs, the answers start to jump off the page at you â there are only a handful of types of graph you need to care about, and you just need to figure out where each of them is hiding the information. Until you know that, graphs can be a bit confusing â but donât worry, I take you through them as gently as I can!
Defining numeracy
The UK Numeracy Standards define numeracy like this:
Numeracy is a proficiency which is developed mainly in mathematics, but also in other subjects. It is more than an ability to do basic arithmetic. It involves developing confidence and competence with numbers and measures. It requires understanding of the number system, a repertoire of mathematical techniques, and an inclination and ability to solve quantitative or spatial problems in a range of contexts. Numeracy also demands understanding of the ways in which data are gathered by counting and measuring, and presented in graphs, diagrams, charts and tables.
This definition makes me want to cry. A repertoire of mathematical techniques? Youâre not a performing seal.
Hereâs my less technical, more useful definition. Numeracy is the maths the average person needs to stay out of trouble. Unless youâre doing something pretty technical, you probably donât have much need for algebra, trigonometry or calculus in your daily life â but you may well need to be able to work out lengths and volumes, percentages, or to interpret graphs.
So, numeracy is about useful maths skills that you could conceivably need to use at work, at home or anywhere else, and those skills are usually the ones that numeracy tests cover.
What numeracy tests typically cover
Numeracy test questions tend to break down into four broad categories (although sometimes the questions bleed across the boundaries):
Whole number arithmetic is about being able to deal with adding, taking away, multiplying and dividing. This is really the basis for all of the other categories, so knowing your number facts and methods really pays off.
Fractions, decimals, percentages and friends are about working with the slightly more awkward but still useful sums.
Measures, space and shape are used to talk about the world, whether youâre describing how long a journey should take or how warm it is.
Graphs and statistics come up all the time: at work, in the news, in adverts and so on. You only need to know a few basic types of graph and statistic for a numeracy test.
Opening Up Your Options with Numeracy Tests
Many employers ask for some level of maths skill when recruiting â more often than not, a good GCSE grade âor equivalentâ. Some of them â particularly the armed forces, emergency services and recruitment agencies â ask you to take a specific numeracy test to show that you have a good grounding in maths.
If you donât have a maths qualification, a lot of these doors are currently closed to you, so taking and passing a numeracy test is a good step towards qualifying for a job (or, of course, a better job) â and also makes it possible for you to take more advanced qualifications that open even more doors for you.
Improving your chances
You may need a maths qualification if you want to begin training or studying for certain professions and degrees. If you want to be a teacher or start any kind of medical study, you need to pass ...
