This is one of the most common Mathematics problems parents notice.
Your child completes the school worksheet.
They can do the textbook exercises.
They seem to understand during tuition.
Then the examination comes back with a disappointing score.
One possible reason is simple:
Homework often tells students what method to use. Exams don’t.
If a worksheet is titled Simultaneous Equations, the student already knows which technique will probably be needed.
If the chapter is called Pythagoras’ Theorem, that is another big clue.
But an examination question may simply describe a real-life situation.
The student must first decide:
“What Mathematics is hidden inside this question?”
The G3 Mathematics syllabus explicitly requires students to identify the relevant concept, translate information into mathematical form and select appropriate techniques.
That is a different skill from simply performing a calculation.
Try this at home
Give your child a question but do not let them calculate immediately.
Ask:
“What topic do you think this question is testing?”
Then ask:
“What clue tells you that?”
If your child can explain the choice of method before doing the calculation, that is a good sign of deeper understanding.
Doing Mathematics well is not only about knowing how.
It is also about knowing when and why.