"Check your work" is the most common instruction given before an exam and the least useful, because almost no child is ever taught what checking means.
Told to check, most children read their answers again. They see what they meant to write rather than what they wrote, find nothing, and hand the paper in. Re-reading is not checking. It is re-reassuring.
Why re-reading fails
The brain reconstructs from memory. A child who wrote 47 when they meant 74 reads 74, because that is what they intended. Catching it needs a different route to the answer, not the same one again.
Four checks that actually find things
| Check | What it catches | Takes |
|---|---|---|
| Does the answer make sense? | A person's age of 210, a length of 0.0003 metres | Seconds |
| Did I answer what was asked? | Explaining when asked to state, listing two when asked for three | Seconds |
| Work it backwards | Arithmetic slips, because the route is different | Under a minute |
| Are the units there? | Marks that are awarded for the unit alone | Seconds |
The second one is the highest yield in written papers. A child who has written a paragraph for a question worth one mark has lost nothing, but a child who gave two points where three were asked for has lost a mark they knew.
Count the marks, count the points
Teach one habit above all others: before leaving a question, compare the number of points written with the number of marks available. Three marks means three distinct points. Not one point said three ways.
This single habit is worth more in structured papers than any amount of extra content revision, and it takes a fortnight to become automatic.
On a multiple choice paper, checking is different
Do not re-do every question; there is not time and it invites second-guessing that usually makes things worse. Instead:
- Check the row numbers match the question numbers, every ten questions.
- Check no row carries two shaded bubbles.
- Check there are no blanks. There is no negative marking, so a guess is free.
Only change an answer if you can say why. First instinct on vocabulary and grammar is usually right, and changed answers are more often changed from right to wrong than the reverse.
Practising it at home
When marking a practice paper together, do not point at the error. Say "there is one mistake in question four" and let them find it. Finding it is the skill; being told is not.
Our guide to marking a paper at home covers the parent's side of this, and reading a marking scheme shows how marks are split inside a single question, which is what makes counting points possible.
For papers to practise on, the KJSEA Complete Revision Course and the KPSEA Complete Revision Course both keep the answers in a separate booklet, so a child can check their own work before anyone else sees it.
KJSEA and KPSEA: 25 days to the first paper
The Grade 9 KJSEA course covers all 9 learning areas for KSH 400. The Grade 6 KPSEA course covers all 5 subjects for KSH 300. Notes, worked examples, topical questions and full marking schemes in both.
⏳ Only 25 days to the national assessments on 26 October. Start now.
KSH 300 or KSH 400 · Get it now → 📱 M-Pesa, instant download · join parents preparing nowHave a CBC question this article didn't answer?
Ask Somo, Kenya's first AI tutor. CBC-grounded, Kenyan examples, instant feedback. Five free questions a day with no signup, or start a 7-day free trial for 30 questions a day.
Try Somo Free →