Create A Test Blog

The really big changes you will notice with Create A Test:
New Home Dashboard and improved usability throughout the site Create your own questions! Improved question bank with search feature added
Improvements you will really appreciate:   New functionality to compress maths questions to remove white space (for those thinking of those printing bills!) Improved tooltips to help you use the site New tutorials to help get you started with Create A Test (more coming in the following weeks) Quick Tests available to build a brand new paper in seconds Dynamic questions converted to fixed questions earlier in the paper creation process
Other tweaks:
Resolved issues with m... [More]

Tags: updates, maths

When I was at school I remember my first unit of work on negative numbers. In the second lesson, our teacher wrote the note below on the chalkboard and asked us to memorise it:



“WHAT???” I thought. “This is just Great! (sarcastic tone) I don’t have a clue what’s going on now!” 

I had no idea what it meant but I just wrote it down and hoped it would come to me later on in the lesson. Fortunately, I figured out a few minutes later that it was a set of rules to help with multiplying negative and positive numbers together. Once I’d deciphered the note, I was then puzzled by the second line:

“So, a negative number multiplied by a negative number is a positive number. Ho... [More]

Tags: negative numbers, maths, dan pearcy

How should maths exams be graded?
The focus in education this summer has been the grading of GCSE exams. Pupils across the country have received lower exam grades than they would have done in December and last summer.


Why has this problem arisen? Grade inflation has been an issue that needed to be addressed since the introduction of GCSEs and absolute grading. Past governments have allowed grading to get out of control and something did need to be done. However making the grading so much tougher in one exam period was extremely short sighted but has helped highlight the failings of the current grading system.


The solution? Here at Create A Test we believe the only solutio... [More]

Tags: maths exams, gcse maths papers, gcse maths

Big changes to the design of the school account
We have been working hard to update the look and usability of the school account during the summer holidays. We have taken on board your suggestions and added a few of our own ideas into the mix to create what we think is a big enhancement to this part of the site.

The changes will be uploaded shortly and include:
New Tab user interface to help improve usability for creating a paper and managing paper questionsA change to the way we create pdf maths papers. This has enhanced the quality of paper and allows users with slower internet speeds to benefit from quicker loading times.Paper size selection. One of the biggest requests we have ... [More]

Tags: news, maths papers, school account

GCSE vs IGCSE: The debate starts again

The IGCSE (international GCSE)
Some schools in the UK have now moved fully or at least partly over the IGCSE based qualifications. These qualifications now come by several names but the essence of them is the same. They offer a more “traditional” teaching with more emphasis on final exams and less time spent doing coursework and controlled assessment. Some highly regarded educators see this as beneficial to their school and pupils.

“… Controlled assessments are cumbersome and time-consuming and restrict the ability of schools like [ours] to provide inspirational teaching for the most able pupils… “
 Head Teacher, UK

Another facto... [More]

Tags: Government Policy, IGCSE, Teaching Maths

A journalist, a psychologist and a statistician are travelling from London to Edinburgh by train. As the train crosses the border, the three travellers look out of the window and notice a black sheep standing alone in a field. The journalist says, “Look! The sheep in Scotland are black.” To which the psychologist replies, "Actually, we can conclude at least one sheep in Scotland is black”. The statistician shakes his head and boldly states, “I think you’ll find we can confidently say that at least one half of one sheep in Scotland is black.”Statistics is the study of the collection, organisation, and interpretation of data. You may be familiar with Statistics in the form of surveys and ... [More]

Tags: Statistics, Maths jokes, Misuse of Statistics, Bad Statistics, Questioning data, Analysis, Motivations

Here are some exam answers to avoid. Using Create A Test should help reduce the following types of mistake... 1. Question: Expand (x+2)(x+3)Answer: ( x + 2 ) ( x + 3 ) 2. Question: Change 8/9 to a decimal. Answer: 8.9 3. Write three thousand, nine hundred and seventy-three in figuresAnswer: three thousand, nine hundred and seventy-three in figures 4. Question: There are 200 pupils in Year 9. Emma and John complete a survey to find out the most popular subject. Emma asks 10 pupils and John asks 50 pupils. Who's results will be more reliable?Give a reason for your answer.Answer: John, because he's a man. 5. Question: What is a random variable?Answer: Someone with multiple p... [More]

Tags: Exams, Funny Maths, GCSE

What's the Point?If you're sick of sequences, you've had it with histograms and can't see the point of Pythagoras, then take a look at some of the articles below.These are some of the Create A Test team's favourite 'alternative' uses of maths. Have a look as a break from revision or a just some light-hearted reading.A formula for the perfect bacon butty? http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_yorkshire/6538643.stmWhat will my tatoo look like when I'm old? http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/apr/28/tattoo-formula-faded-body-artHow can I beat my brother at Monopoly? http://www.suite101.com/content/the-math-of-monopoly-a326114How to create the perfect pint? (over 18s only) http://www.e... [More]

Tags: Tatoo, Model, Formula, Stout, Guiness, Monopoly, perfect pint, uses of maths

Osmosis, meditation and hypnosis: What is the best way to revise? Revision time is an important part of the year for budding mathematicians (as well as budding historians, physicists and students of any other discipline). Pupils all over the world are now working towards exams that often take place in the early summer. GCSE and IGCSE exams are sat in the many countries across the world as well as in the UK. Schools in Hong Kong, Switzerland, the UAE, Brazil and Cyprus (just to name a few) will be joining those in the UK getting ready for exams. The question I want to look at today is how these pupils should revise for their exams. There are many books and web pages (not mention advice from t... [More]

Tags: Maths, GCSE, IGCSE, Exam Revision, Create A Test, International schools

Recently there has been a large stream of Maths and Science videos to entertain us on BBC 4. Some of these programs have managed to bring in much larger audiences than you might expect. There is no doubt that at least some maths teachers will use these programs at some point but are they worth watching in your own home. First of all, what type of programs are we talking about? I have chosen three programs to look at to give you an idea of what is available. The first program we will look at is “The Joy of Stats” presented by Hans Rosling. This is a lively view on the world of statistics and gives the viewer a good sense on how statistics is been used to achieve things like language translat... [More]

Tags: Maths, Maths and TV, The Joy of Stats, Marcus Du Sautoy, Teaching Maths, The Story of Maths, Beautiful Equations

What is the English Bac?The English Bac is awarded to GCSE pupils who achieve a C grade or above in Maths, English, a science, a foreign language and a humanity (ie history/geography). It is not an extra exam but rather a push by the government to put more importance on the subjects listed above. Here at Create A Test we always have different views about government policy in education. However there are normally things we do agree about too. We are sure that though the focus on traditional subjects seems like an excellent idea in principal it does have some flaws. A list of possible flaws are included below: The new English Bac only been achieved by 1 in 6 pupils. 5 out of 6 pupils... [More]

Tags: Government Policy, Maths, GCSE, League Tables, IGCSE, Schools, English Bac

Why do we keep hearing acronyms like STEM subjects? Why are the Maths results for a school so important in how it is ranked? Why is the government cutting university spending on Maths and other key subjects by a fraction of the cuts to film studies?Here are a few suggested answers: Jobs (getting a well paid job or just a job full stop!) It is the queen of the sciences and helps us in so many other subjects from Physics and Medicine to Computer Science and Economics So you can manage your personal financesPlease feel free to add your own reasons here…. Homer might say (or rather I might suggest to him): Well your car wouldn’t work Your new HD TV (ok any ... [More]

Tags: Homer Simpson, Maths, Employment, Create A Test