If you’ve chosen Specialist Maths, you already know it’s one of the toughest WACE subjects. The content is deep, the questions are complex, and the exam can feel like a marathon. But with a clear plan and enough practice, you can absolutely walk into the exam room confident and prepared. Here’s your 90-day roadmap.
What does the exam actually look like?
The Mathematics Specialist ATAR Exam comprises of two sections:
- Part 1: Calculator-free (50 minutes). Pure brainpower, algebra skills, and problem-solving without shortcuts.
- Part 2: Calculator-allowed (100 minutes). Longer, harder, and where most of the heavy problem-solving happens.
Both papers test Units 3 & 4 content, with a mix of short-answer and extended-response questions. Expect multi-part problems that link topics together, rather than single-skill drills.
Allowed materials:
- Casio Classpad and calculator (for Paper 2 only). You can use up to 3 calculators.
- Pens (blue/black preferred), pencils, sharpener, correction fluid/tape, ruler, eraser, highlighters.
- Formula sheet is provided.
What content is assessed?
Spec covers a lot, so here’s the big picture:
- Unit 3:
- Complex numbers
- Functions and sketching graphs
- Vectors in 3D
- Unit 4:
- Integration and applications of integration
- Rates of change and differential equations
- Statistical inference
The kicker? Questions are rarely “straight from the textbook.” They’re about connecting ideas and solving unfamiliar problems.
Your 90-day roadmap
Mathematics is about practice. Practising mathematical problems allows you to see patterns in mathematical problems, which open your eyes to different ways of approaching problems which you might not otherwise. Here’s how to make the most of your time.
Here’s how to break your study down into manageable chunks:
Day 90 (3 months to go):
Use the ‘traffic light system’! Write down all key concepts from your syllabus and colour code them – red for “no idea whatsoever”, orange for “a bit shaky” and green for “all good!”. This will be your framework and guide for how to optimise how you allocate your time to study.
Day 60 (2 months to go):
Start working through textbook questions in untimed conditions, starting with ‘red’ questions, before they move to orange and green – then move to orange, until everything is green.
Day 45 (1.5 months to go):
The WATP (non-specific to school) exams are a good place to go for questions that are closer to exam-style questions. Try these in untimed conditions to get a better understanding of your competence of different concepts and refine your traffic light system.
Day 30 (1 month to go):
It’s crunch time. Do 2–3 school-based past papers a week in timed conditions and actively review mistakes. Past papers are your most valuable resource – I cannot stress enough how important these are. They are valuable because they simulate exam-taking conditions. If half of your exam ability is in your mastery of concepts, the second half is adapting to time pressured conditions (the mental game). Notice patterns in your weaknesses, and revise your traffic light system, now for time-constrained understanding of concepts.
Day 5:
Sit one more full exam paper – extra points if it’s the most recent exam that your school (or SCSA, if you’re sitting the proper WACE exam) developed. Then review your most common mistakes – like decimal places or units.
Day 1:
Whatever you do today study-wise doesn’t really matter. What is most important, is getting a proper night’s sleep.
Exam techniques that make a difference
- Pace yourself. Section two generally involves greater time pressure, so be prepared. In each case, you should be aiming for a mark a minute. Don’t burn too much time on one part-question.
- Always show working. Full marks often require the reasoning, not just the final answer.
- Don’t panic at curveballs. Break them down: what topic does it belong to? What’s the first small step you can do?
- Check your answers. It’s easy to make silly mistakes, especially if you’re dealing with exam fatigue from doing many, many practise problems.
Final words of advice
Specialist Maths is a game of practice and persistence. You don’t need to be perfect at every question – you just need to collect marks steadily and avoid common traps. Build confidence with consistent past paper practice, focus on your weak spots, and remember: even the hardest-looking questions can usually be broken into smaller steps.
Stick to the plan, trust the work you’ve done, and on exam day, back yourself.
You’ve got this! Good luck.
