5 proven tips for getting a great result for ICAS Science

Science allows us to light up our cities, cure diseases, and send rockets into space. It helps us predict the movement of cyclones, purify water for drinking, and chat to family members on the other side of the planet.

There isn’t much that science doesn’t influence in our everyday lives. And every person who has made an incredible discovery or forged a useful new technology started their scientific journey at school, igniting passions for the natural world and improving people’s lives as a result.

If your child loves science and is participating in the ICAS Science competition this year, this article offers advice on how they can achieve their best score, and intensify their scientific passion along the way.

1. Learn and practise the tested Science skills

ICAS Science tests students on the following skills and knowledge areas:

• Skills:
  • Observing & measuring
  • Interpreting
  • Predicting & concluding
  • Investigating
  • Reasoning & problem solving
• Knowledge areas:
  • Earth & beyond
  • Natural & processed materials
  • Life & living
  • Energy & change

By learning and practising the skills and topics outlined above, your child can improve their ICAS Science scores. Our past papers are an effective method because they cover these exact areas, though there may be other practice materials that do the same, such as the Khan Academy or other challenges that focus on STEM.

Diving into our ICAS Science assessment framework also provides some typical question examples that may help. To identify the paper for your child’s year level, check out this table.

2. Use our ICAS practice tools

We know that many students want to do their best in ICAS, so we’ve developed three practice tools to help them do so.

The first, as mentioned above, is our ICAS past papers. These digital mock tests are built from former ICAS questions and answers, covering the exact same skills and knowledge areas that your child will be tested on for their ICAS exam. That makes them one of the best ways to practice.

The second useful practice tool is RiSE+ – an online practice test platform with dedicated ICAS-style tests. As with our past papers, the tests focus on the same core competencies as the actual ICAS assessments, allowing your child to get targeted, effective practice to achieve higher scores.

The third tool is our sample tests, which give your child an idea of how the ICAS test environment looks, feels, and works. It doesn’t help them improve their skills or knowledge for the test questions, but instead helps them become more comfortable and familiar with the platform itself, so they know what to expect on test day.

3. Improve reading skills

Reading is a necessary skill for every test, including ICAS. If your child has a good vocabulary and reading comprehension for their age, they’ll be able to better understand what is being asked for each question and have a greater chance of getting the right answer.

As one of the most important skills for school and beyond, encouraging your child to improve their reading abilities is always worthwhile. These are a few effective strategies:

• Read more – books, articles, or other forms of content will give your child the practice they need. And it’s crucial they find the information interesting, otherwise they’re unlikely to continue. Reading aloud can also help with fluency, pronunciation, and expression.
• Look up words – if your child doesn’t know a word, encourage them to look it up! The more words they know, the greater their ability to understand text precisely.
• Ask questions – while reading, ask your child to pause and ask questions like “who,” “what” and “why.” This gets them thinking more deeply about the text.

If you’d like to discover more strategies, check out this blog: 8 fun ways to improve literacy and numeracy at home.

4. Encourage a love for science

Our universe is fascinating, especially for children who are learning about it for the first time. To stoke the magnetic charm of science, and improve your child’s chances in ICAS Science, you can consider the following:

• Museum trips – ancient dinosaur bones, planetary orbits, static electricity balls that make your child’s hair stand on end…museums can be enthralling places that really fuel their interest in science.
• Nature trips – there’s much beautiful flora and fauna in the world waiting to be experienced by your child. Try nature parks, seaside trips, and other outdoor adventures that include lots of observing and discussing.
• Movies and TV – shows like BrainBuzz, Backyard Science and Mythbusters, as well as movies like WALL-E, Apollo 13, and Jurassic Park can all help to stimulate a passion for the world of science.
• Home experiments – kids love experimenting, it’s how they learn! Try making cool things with them like volcanos, invisible ink, and DIY lava lamps.

And of course, participating in ICAS is a way to develop a passion for science all by itself!

5. Remember it’s supposed to be fun

ICAS is not a high-stakes test that affects your child’s future. It’s a fun academic competition designed to test their skills and give them a platform to compete against their peers, with the chance to be recognised for their efforts.

While they may want to do well in ICAS Science, and can do so through the tips listed above, remind them that the most important thing is to just try their best and have fun.

ICAS or otherwise, it’s advice we all might take!