Exam Planner Crash Course: How to Help Your Child Avoid Cramming

Over the last three months, we’ve spoken to over 15,000 parents in our fortnightly webinar series. Time and time again, we’re asked about a common issue: the night-before-exam last-minute cramming. It's a tale as old as time: your child stays up late, underprepared and inevitably in tears, and you’re left stressed.

So, in this 5-minute crash course, we’ll show you how you can build and use an exam planner to avoid this. With this tool in place, your child will be prepared, confident, well-rested, and ready to excel in their exam—whether they're facing their year 12 exams, like the HSC or VCE, or an annual internal assessment. Let's get started.

Step 1: Work Out What’s in the Exam

This first step seems simple but is critical. The average Year 12 student misses up to 3–4 weeks of school due to illness, sports, or extracurricular commitments, leaving gaps in their notes. By the time exams roll around, their notes resemble Swiss cheese—full of holes that can lead to knowledge gaps.

To fix this, start by reviewing the syllabus or study design for each subject. Identify the topics that will be covered in the exam and transfer them into an exam planner. This ensures no key area is overlooked.

Step 2: Determine the Content Gaps in the Exam Planner

Once the syllabus topics are in the planner, your child should check their notes against this list. For each syllabus point, they should tick it off if their notes are complete. Any gaps identified in their notes should be highlighted and added to the planner as tasks to complete. This ensures they’re fully prepared, with no holes in their knowledge.

Step 3: Put in the Exam Date and Set Deadlines Backwards

With the syllabus topics and gaps identified, students should now focus on scheduling their study. The key is to set deadlines working backwards from the exam date.

Here’s why: Working from the exam date ensures a more realistic timeline. Starting from the top and moving down often leads to underestimating how long tasks will take, causing last-minute panic. By contrast, working backwards encourages better time management and avoids rushing.

Here’s how:

1. Enter the exam date at the bottom of the planner.

2. Work upwards, setting deadlines for each task, such as filling gaps, memorising notes, and completing practice exams.

   
   

   

   
   
   
   

Suggested Deadlines:

• Practice exams: Allow one day per practice paper. This avoids rushing and allows breaks, while also leaving time for other subjects.

• Memorising notes: Allocate one day for every 10 pages of notes. Students should limit themselves to two hours per day per subject.

• Filling gaps: Allow one day per topic to ensure thorough understanding.

  
  

When working backwards, students quickly see two things:

1. They need to start earlier than expected.

2. Their preparation becomes more relaxed, avoiding the last-minute cramming that most students experience.

   
   
   
   

Step 4: Start Working Through the Plan

Finally, students begin working through their planner, ticking off tasks as they go. The beauty of this method is:

• They start exam preparation earlier;

• The process is less rushed, reducing stress;

• Knowledge gaps are filled before the exam;

• Key tasks like practice exams are prioritised.

  
  

By following this plan, students enter exams confident, well-prepared, and without the stress that comes with cramming.

Download our exam planner template

Good luck with exam planning! Let us know how your child goes!