Exam Performance Institute - Our Story
The Exam Performance Institute is a company based in Ireland. Founded in 2020, our mission is to teach students correct exam technique.
We provide exam technique courses and exam coaching consultations for students on how to maximize their exam performance.
We help students taking exams at second level all the way to professional exams.
We also work with corporate clients, schools and institutions to provide exam performance training for their employees and students.
Exam Performance Institute is an alumni of the 'Back for Business' initiative supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Enterprise Ireland.
Exam Performance Institute was founded by Dr. David Cosgrave, who created the Exam Performance System. This system identifies five key elements of exam technique: (1) Understanding yourself (2) Exam psychology (3) Exam preparation (4) In-exam performance
and (5) Post-exam evaluation
We provide exam technique courses and exam coaching consultations for students on how to maximize their exam performance.
We help students taking exams at second level all the way to professional exams.
We also work with corporate clients, schools and institutions to provide exam performance training for their employees and students.
Exam Performance Institute is an alumni of the 'Back for Business' initiative supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Enterprise Ireland.
Exam Performance Institute was founded by Dr. David Cosgrave, who created the Exam Performance System. This system identifies five key elements of exam technique: (1) Understanding yourself (2) Exam psychology (3) Exam preparation (4) In-exam performance
and (5) Post-exam evaluation
Our Founder - Dr. David Cosgrave
Hi, my name is David and I founded the Exam Performance Institute.
I never intended to start a business coaching students exam technique until I realised the number of students
who are never taught how to sit an exam correctly.
Early in my university life, I discovered that I had a talent for exams. I understood that there was a pattern needed to do well in exams.
I learned that all exams were basically the same and if I performed in line with the expected pattern, I would get better grades.
Unknowingly, this would become the foundation for my Exam Performance System.
This system allowed me to spend my time focusing on studying only important information for the exam and free up time
for things I actually liked to do.
My system allowed me to graduate my bachelor’s degree with first class honours. I also won an award for having a high GPA. There was an event, and I got some money as a prize, which was nice!
I was able to take my system to the next level when I used it to graduate from my masters with first class honours.
I am not telling you my results to brag, but to show you that I can help students achieve the results that they want.
I am fortunate to have taught at thee top 1% universities in Ireland and internationally. It was during my time on the other side of the classroom where I really saw the scale of the exam problem.
I started to receive calls and messages from family and friends asking me to help their children with their upcoming exams. I shared my advice and details of my system with anyone who asked, free of charge.
That’s when I started to get calls from people I didn’t know. They needed help too. They had never been taught how to sit exams either!
Every exam brought more and more calls. It reached the point where I did not have enough time in the day to coach people individually.
This surge in demand for my help made me curious. Was this just a local problem or had I stumbled on something bigger?
I started to analyse data from all of my previous exams, going line by line through each student paper. I quickly discovered that my students were making the same mistakes in my exams year after year.
These common exam mistakes were the result of not being taught exam technique and more importantly, these mistakes were causing students to lose out on grades.
Building on this research, I started to survey all my students about their exam preparation. None of my students had ever been taught how to sit an exam correctly.
How could it be that students who had spent most of their lives in education, have never been taught how to sit an exam, when it is the main assessment method used to differentiate students?
Many students reported that they had used some form of tutoring or paid for exam preparation courses. However, these courses almost exclusively focus on content and how to memorize. They do not teach students how to use their knowledge to maximise their score in each exam.
That is why I founded the Exam Performance Institute. My goal is to teach as many students as possible, the correct way to prepare for and sit an exam.
I want to give students the opportunity to perform to their maximum potential in any exam they take.
Let’s change the way you take exams forever!
I never intended to start a business coaching students exam technique until I realised the number of students
who are never taught how to sit an exam correctly.
Early in my university life, I discovered that I had a talent for exams. I understood that there was a pattern needed to do well in exams.
I learned that all exams were basically the same and if I performed in line with the expected pattern, I would get better grades.
Unknowingly, this would become the foundation for my Exam Performance System.
This system allowed me to spend my time focusing on studying only important information for the exam and free up time
for things I actually liked to do.
My system allowed me to graduate my bachelor’s degree with first class honours. I also won an award for having a high GPA. There was an event, and I got some money as a prize, which was nice!
I was able to take my system to the next level when I used it to graduate from my masters with first class honours.
I am not telling you my results to brag, but to show you that I can help students achieve the results that they want.
I am fortunate to have taught at thee top 1% universities in Ireland and internationally. It was during my time on the other side of the classroom where I really saw the scale of the exam problem.
I started to receive calls and messages from family and friends asking me to help their children with their upcoming exams. I shared my advice and details of my system with anyone who asked, free of charge.
That’s when I started to get calls from people I didn’t know. They needed help too. They had never been taught how to sit exams either!
Every exam brought more and more calls. It reached the point where I did not have enough time in the day to coach people individually.
This surge in demand for my help made me curious. Was this just a local problem or had I stumbled on something bigger?
I started to analyse data from all of my previous exams, going line by line through each student paper. I quickly discovered that my students were making the same mistakes in my exams year after year.
These common exam mistakes were the result of not being taught exam technique and more importantly, these mistakes were causing students to lose out on grades.
Building on this research, I started to survey all my students about their exam preparation. None of my students had ever been taught how to sit an exam correctly.
How could it be that students who had spent most of their lives in education, have never been taught how to sit an exam, when it is the main assessment method used to differentiate students?
Many students reported that they had used some form of tutoring or paid for exam preparation courses. However, these courses almost exclusively focus on content and how to memorize. They do not teach students how to use their knowledge to maximise their score in each exam.
That is why I founded the Exam Performance Institute. My goal is to teach as many students as possible, the correct way to prepare for and sit an exam.
I want to give students the opportunity to perform to their maximum potential in any exam they take.
Let’s change the way you take exams forever!