NZQA Help for Parents
Parents Helping Students Succeed at Exams
The countdown to final Senior or NZQA Exams is now on!
REMEMBER: "The time to start lies between yesterday and tomorrow."
Advice to Parents
As parents you can become involved in your child’s study in a number of positive ways. Encourage your son/daughter – they need reassurance and to believe they can succeed.
- Help provide a suitable work environment for your child, eg good lighting, quiet and in a non-traffic area, free from distractions.
- Help establish routines, ie regular hours of revision – and ensure they have the right equipment.Accept that students prefer to work at different times – some work best in the morning, others in the evening.
- Support your son/daughter’s study programme – slot in regular chores/commitments to eliminate interruptions during study time.Healthy eating, breakfasts and sufficient sleep are important.
- Realise students need regular breaks - hour blocks with 5-minute breaks keep students alert.Exercise is important – small amounts often will help. Encourage a balance between work and leisure.
- Encourage good study habits and provide incentives or motivation for effort put in.Offer to help by asking questions that test the main points for each subject. Students will have guidelines highlighting these.
- A subject like English requires a student to draw upon personal experiences and opinions. Try to stimulate interest in topical events by talking about these. The better-informed students are, the greater the resources they have to write about.
Encourage, support – but don’t pressure!