10 Revision Tips for Passing the QTS Skills Test

For would-be teachers facing QTS skills tests, ensuring you’re thoroughly prepared through revision is important. Mandatory for all prospective teachers, the QTS professional skills tests are according to the Department for Education:

“designed to assess the core skills that teachers need to fulfil their professional role in schools.”

Focusing on numeracy and literacy competency, for many prospective teachers the QTS tests are uncharted territory. The good news is that with proper planning, preparation and practice, passing them and reaching the desired destination of qualified teacher can be achieved. Here are ten tips for getting to the top of the QTS class.

QTS Maths

1. Find out what you already know

Start off by identifying gaps in your existing maths skills and knowledge. Try out a few practice tests online to discover what aspects come easily and which topics represent more of a stretch. Make a list of the areas of difficulty and treat these as priorities in your preparation schedule.

2. Get back to basics

Passing the maths elements of the tests requires solid number skills- but at a fairly basic level. In today’s world, however, most of us have got out of the way of calculating fractions, percentages and decimals and using techniques like rounding and long division. The quickest and most cost effective way of brushing up on these basic skills is by using YouTube tutorial videos.

3. Dig into data

The tests have a heavy emphasis on data- reading and interpretation. Unless this is a skill you are using on a daily basis it is highly likely you will need to refresh your statistical capabilities. Online resources such as Hegarty Maths can provide a quick fix on topics such as probability, averages, range and two-way tables.

QTS Literacy

4. Swot up on spelling

The first section of the literacy skills tests focuses on spelling. A great way to get up to speed on this is to use ‘active reading.’ This process involves carefully scrutinizing each word when reading a document, rather than skimming- which is what most people do in their daily lives. Active reading extends vocabulary and improves spelling accuracy.

5. Practice grammar and punctuation

Grammar and punctuation make up significant sections within the test and are worth a considerable number of marks. Learning to recognise poor grammar and spot inaccurate punctuation are skills which require significant practice. Use online videos as source material and try out practice tests to see if you are retaining the information.

6. Concentrate on comprehension

This part of the test is designed to assess your ability to analyse a selection of extracts from written documents. You are then asked questions about the most important points and to discern the difference between fact and opinion. The only way to get better at these tests is to practise but once you do improvement should come thick and fast.

General QTS Tips

7. Plan and prepare well in advance of the test for the best chance of success. Make a revision schedule and stick to it.

8. QTS are timed tests so get into the discipline of working to the clock at an early stage.

9. Recreate exam conditions- do practice tests in a quiet room without interruptions. Do at least one paper each week and record your performance- hopefully you will see an encouraging trend.

10. Take practice questions online to ensure you are ready for all aspects of test preparation. The skilled team at ISC Professional are here to help – so get in touch today. We are also launching a QTS practice test soon, so bookmark this page to hear more soon.