Practice progress record: track your child's own improvement

Quick Answer

For each skill, write down four things: the first attempt, whether the explanation made sense, a reattempt a few days later, and one new question on the same skill. The sign that a skill has moved is the new question answered correctly, not a higher mock percentage. This record from Braintree Coaching Australia gives you a blank printable sheet, one completed (fictional) example and a guide to the three patterns it shows. You can use it with any exam, and it needs no sign-up.

Who is this record for?

A parent whose child is doing regular practice and who wants to know whether it is changing anything. Mock scores move for many reasons, including which paper was set and how tired a child was. A skill that is followed from the first mistake to a fresh question tells you more.

This record is for Years 4 to 8 and for any exam: OC, selective, scholarship or NAPLAN. It records your child's own practice. You do not need to be able to solve the questions yourself, only to note what your child did and said.

What should we write down after each practice?

One row for each skill that went wrong or was guessed. Four things go in the row, in this order.

1. First attempt. Write right, wrong or guessed. A guess that landed can hide a gap.
2. What the explanation showed. After your child has read the worked solution, ask them to say in one sentence what they got wrong. Write their words. If the explanation did not make sense, write that.
3. Reattempt. A few days later, give the same question again. Write the date and right or wrong.
4. New question. On the same day or the next, give one fresh question that uses the same skill. Write right or wrong. This is the column that counts.

Then write one next step: what you will do before the next row. If a skill is not yet fixed, give it a new row the next week. That row's first attempt may be right, and the new question still decides the pattern.

The blank record

Print this page, or copy the table onto paper. Set the printer to landscape so all seven columns stay readable. Fill in one row for each skill.

Date	Skill	First attempt (right, wrong, guessed)	What the explanation showed	Reattempt: date and result	New question: right or wrong	Next step

What does a filled-in record look like? A fictional example

This example is made up. "Leo" is not a real child and these are not real results.

Leo is in Year 6. His family practises for 15 minutes on most evenings. His mum keeps the record on one sheet of paper for two weeks and follows three skills.

Date	Skill	First attempt	What the explanation showed	Reattempt	New question	Next step
Wk 1 Mon	Fraction of a quantity	Wrong	"I found one third and forgot to times it by two."	Thu: right	Right	Fixed. Leave it for now.
Wk 1 Tue	Main idea of a paragraph	Guessed	"I picked what the first sentence was about, not the whole paragraph."	Fri: right	Wrong	Memorised. Do three new paragraphs.
Wk 1 Wed	Number patterns with two rules	Wrong	"The explanation lost me. I don't see why it goes up then down."	Sat: wrong	Wrong	Still stuck. Read one worked example together.
Wk 2 Mon	Main idea of a paragraph	Right	Leo explained it aloud without help.	Wed: right	Right	Fixed. Leave it for now.
Wk 2 Tue	Number patterns with two rules	Wrong	Wrote the two rules separately, then combined them.	Fri: right	Wrong	Memorised. Do two more with a different pair of rules.

Leo's mum read the sheet after two weeks. Fraction of a quantity was fixed in the first week. Main idea took a second round, which is why it has two rows. Number patterns moved from stuck to memorised, which is progress but not yet a skill Leo can use on a new question.

How do we read the record after two weeks?

Each skill shows one of three patterns.

Pattern	What it looks like	What it usually means	What to do
Fixed	New question right	The idea transferred to a question your child had not seen.	Stop practising this skill for now. Come back to it in a month.
Memorised	Reattempt right, new question wrong	Your child remembers that question, not the method.	Do more new questions on the same skill, with the explanation spoken aloud before the answer.
Still stuck	Reattempt wrong, new question wrong	The explanation has not landed, or the content has not been taught yet.	Stop practising. Look at a different explanation, or ask the teacher.

Two cautions. One new question is a small sample, so a single right answer is a good sign and not a certainty. And a skill that is still stuck after two attempts may need a different explanation, not more effort. Repeating the same question is unlikely to help.

Try it: fill one row from last week

Pick one question your child got wrong or guessed in last week's practice. Fill in the first three columns from what you remember, then give a new question on the same skill today. Decide which pattern the row shows, and write one next step. If you cannot name the skill in a few words, the skill is the first thing to work out.

Why not compare with other children's scores?

This record does not use a percentile, a rank, an average for the cohort or a prediction of placement. That is deliberate.

• A score on a practice paper depends on the paper, the day and the child. Set beside other children's scores it says little about what your child should practise next.
• A cohort figure gives you a number and no action. The record gives you a skill and a next step.
• Comparing with other children can make repeating familiar questions feel safer. The new-question column asks for a question your child has not seen.

Your child's earlier rows are the only comparison that is useful here.

What should we do next?

• To sort the mistakes from one full mock before you start the record, use the mock review planner. It takes one mock and picks two skills. This record then follows those skills.
• For patterns that tutors see across OC, selective and scholarship mocks, read common practice errors.
• If your child has not sat a mock yet, the free mock tests are a starting point. They need a free classroom account.
• If the record shows your child needs more practice on a particular exam, choose the exam and year on the course page and check what each pack includes before deciding.

Sources and review

About the method: Braintree Coaching Australia wrote this record as a teaching tool for following a skill through practice. The three patterns are a classroom aid. They are not an official classification from any exam authority, and nothing here predicts a test result or placement.

About the example: "Leo", his skills and his answers are fictional and written for this page.

Author: James Rush, content writer, Braintree Coaching Australia.

Review status: a named teacher review has not yet been recorded for this record. If something is unclear, please tell us.

Last updated: 2026-10-15.