Does ICAS Assessment matter? and how to ace it.

Every year millions of students take the ICAS in Australia and beyond. ICAS assessment is not only important and popular in Australia, but also in many other counties like New Zealand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa and the United States. ICAS Assessment has become one of the most important competitive tests for students from years 2-12 and 1-12 in Singapore. 41 countries are participating in ICAS currently. 

What is the ICAS Assessments/ ICAS test? 

ICAS tests students on English, Mathematics, Science, Digital Technologies, Writing, and Spelling Bee. The core idea behind assessing students in ICAS is to evaluate students on their ability to use classroom understandings in a real-world scenario. 

This is extremely important in today’s world, as the job market is moving rapidly. Not just theoretical, but applied skills beyond the classroom are essential for real-world success. 

Many new segments have also emerged in the job market. When a student takes the ICAS competition, he/she is compelled to think out-of-the-box and apply their knowledge to solve questions(which are specifically crafted) mimicking real-world scenarios. Students can make better connections, with their existing knowledge of a subject. Making students able to think and contextualise better. 

Taking ICAS is essential, as it prepares the students for the future and helps them succeed. 

So, what is the ICAS Assessment?

International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS) is an online competition conducted on behalf of Janison Solutions: for Primary and secondary school students in Australia. ICAS uses data from these assessments and helps schools and parents improve learning. ICAS is conducted annually, assessing students’ skills in English, Mathematics, Science, Digital Technologies, Spelling, and writing. 

With more than 40 years of research, by expert educationists, ICAS is one of the most comprehensive assessments available to students around the world. ICAS assessments are now available in 41 countries, with more than 10 million students participating in the assessment every year. 

ICAS is dedicated to providing strong insights, to parents and teachers, to improve learning outcomes and academic excellence. 

ICAS Registration and Pricing.

Where and When Can You Take the ICAS Test?

Globally ICAS is spread around 41 countries, in the world. However, in Australia, ICAS assessments can be taken at JEM (Janison Exam Management) Centres in Brisbane, QLD, Sydney, NSW, Perth, WA, Melbourne, and VIC. Students are advised to book their ICAS tests in advance and JEM offers different pricing for different years. 

JEM provides detailed technical requirements, which must be met before the exam: like the types of browsers most compatible for the exam, including lockdown browser requirements. You may run the “technical readiness” test by visiting the ICAS website and making sure things are in order way before the exam dates. 

Each year, JEM provides assessment dates and other details on their website(including pricing). Schools and parents can both sign up and register their children for the test online at https://www.icasassessments.com/shop/. There is a separate login for each.

How do I prepare my child for the ICAS Assessments?

ICAS assessments are not your regular/ conventional style of assessments and will require a little more effort than memorising facts and formulae. Problem-solving skills and creativity are essential for success in ICAS.

“So then, how do I help my child?”. Well, one of the best ways to help your child is to partner with them in the months leading up to the test. Practising past papers of ICAS, together with your child will help boost confidence. It will also make your child familiar with the format of the test, and the kind of questions he/she needs to prepare. Time management is essential in acing ICAS and practising past papers is the best way to go about it.

Apart from practising ICAS past papers, there are a few points the students can work on while preparing for the test. These are some expert opinions by professional teachers. 

• Half-an-hour rule: Youngsters do not have a long attention span. Anything more than half an hour of creative exercise will result in a drag. You can get the best result out of your child in the first half hour. Sticking to this is advisable.

• The night before: Planning for the test day morning will ensure the child’s smooth and relaxed day. This includes laying out clothes, stationery, snacks, and other necessary items the night before.
• Healthy Mind: Parents must make sure that the child gets enough sleep, is eating healthy and exercising. Stress can build up towards the test days. Parents must do everything to ensure that the child is relaxed and confident on the test day.
• Practise real-world writing: Parents must encourage their children to write as much as possible on a variety of topics. These days there are many forums and review boards where a child can experience different forms and styles of writing.  For example, the child can review a movie/ restaurant etc. and compare that with other expert writers. This kind of writing exercise will expose the child to a variety of opinions and styles, which is critical to ICAS. 

Apart from the above-mentioned ways, parents may also take help from expert organisations like NRICH LEARNING to help their child ace the test. 

NRICH learning is a group of expert tutors with unique methods of training and years of industry knowledge. You can check their website

https://www.nrichlearning.com.au/ for more details.

The ICAS Past Papers and ICAS Results.

Being one of the most comprehensive assessments, available to students, the way ICAS papers are designed is in itself a work of art. It takes months of effort and a team of dedicated professionals to prepare the test papers. These experts analyse data, check rubrics and add out-of-the-box twists to make these papers. The ICAS papers must stretch students’ imaginations and challenge them while keeping it fun to work on. 

There are about 10 papers on each subject and each paper has around 30-60 questions. The degree of difficulty in each year needs to be perfect. A team of experts look at data from previous ICAS past papers to check how earlier students have responded, whether the questions were understood properly etc. These take a lot of effort. 

These efforts make the ICAS past papers important and are available on their website for a fee. 

ICAS past papers are indispensable when it comes to practising for the test. Parents must buy the ICAS past papers and make the child practice them. 

Everyone, who participates in ICAS receives a certificate and a report letter. A high distinction certificate is awarded to students who are in the top 1% of the. Students who are in the next 10% of entrants are awarded Distinction. A credit certificate and merit certificate are awarded to students in the following 25% and 10% of the entrants, respectively. 

ICAS Medals are awarded to top-scoring meritorious students along with a certificate. ICAS will contact the principals of the school students regarding the medal-winning students. ICAS also provides a pack to be given to the parents of the students, which may include gifts like ICAS stickers, stationeries etc. 

Once a student has given the ICAS assessment, the school receives the online result typically between 4-6 days after the final sitting. And certificates are issued 14 days later(approximately). 

After processing the result, your school will provide the login details and certificate accordingly.