How to Improve Problem Solving Aptitude
Often, it is misconception that numerical aptitude tests assess your understanding to work out percentages, ratios proportions or related arithmetic operations. Note that such exercises evaluate your competence to make meaningful conclusion of large quantity of data by means of arithmetic or algebraic expressions. Hence, the core stone of such examinations is to assess your reasoning or problem solving abilities rather than pure knowledge of arithmetic. The below section will provide you with few ideas how to advance your aptitude or problem solving competencies for numerical reasoning tests.
 |
Practice reasoning test questions
To improve your problem solving skills it is essential that you practice answering the types of questions that are likely to appear in your official numeracy test. When you go through your practice materials do not guess the answer but rather think about the solution and try to arrive at the correct answer yourself. At first, study the challenge that you are struggling with slowly. Make sure that you understand the logic and important concepts to work out the problem. Once you gain understanding of such challenge practice the concept on similar sets of questions and see whether you can work them out swiftly.
Remember, if you do not fully understand the logic behind the challenge and you don’t make enough effort to go properly over the explanation then you are likely to fail in further tests. Checking up on your understanding of each of the question and getting the point behind it improves your numerical aptitude skills.
Practice multiple-step solutions
In order to advance your aptitude further you need to have regular exposure to the types of questions that cannot by merely solved by applying single routine arithmetic operations to one step problems; but rather you need to be confronted with set of challenges that require you to tackle multiple-step solutions where you have to get through various stages of calculations or mental computations to get to the final answer. You can see numerical problem solving section where you can find good example of such questions. Hence, to advance your problem solving competence for numerical reasoning you have to be faced with challenging tasks of various difficulty levels.
Improve in your weak areas
To get ahead in your preparation you need to analyse any weaknesses in your knowledge of maths, mental arithmetic and problem solving. Any deficiencies in any of these areas may significantly impact on your ability to solve the questions and ultimately will lower your score. For example, if you have gaps in knowledge of sums and you have good mental or reasoning intellect then you are likely to fail because numbers cannot be manipulated except the rules of maths. Contrary, if you have good knowledge of arithmetic, that is, you know how to use percentages, fractions or other related arithmetic operations whereas your mental or reasoning abilities are not developed to the level that is required for numerical aptitude test, then your score is not likely to be high.
Therefore, to improve your performance you need to acquire, develop or strengthen math, mental arithmetic and problem solving skills and work through types of exam papers that may come up in your official numerical aptitude exercise. Shall you have any problems with this then view how to improve aptitude skills.