Pre-exam aural check Level 1 Functional Maths

This aural check was used to assess learners before they attended my intensive 1:1 support / revision sessions for the Level 1 Functional Maths exam. These were generally students that I had not met or taught before.

Normally, I spend several sessions getting to know a learner and his or her mathematical strengths and difficulties. However, time was short and precious at the end of the year so I devised this check that was delivered and marked by vocational staff or LSAs. The marked papers were then given to me before I met with each student. It helped me prioritise the topics I needed to cover with each learner and was also a useful discussion prompt.

The check does not attempt to cover all aspects of the Functional Maths criteria but focuses on common areas of confusion. For this reason, I do not recommend it as a comprehensive initial assessment tool. Note all questions are to be read aloud by the assessor.

The topics covered are:

• writing large numbers
• common fraction-percentage equivalents
• writing fractions (you wouldn’t believe how many students couldn’t write ‘one and a half’ as a mixed number!)
• probability
• units of time (because many don’t know there are 60 seconds in a minute, etc.), dates, and the 24 hour clock.
• metric measures and basic conversions (a common sticking point for many)
• data collection sheets (because many students don’t know what a DCS is!)