11 Plus Exams Forum

Roughly what is the level achievd by students at key stage 2 exam and admissions to grammar schools

I would say that you would need to be achieving a high level 5 to get in. My DS was offered a grammar school place ( he got three 5As but also sat the level 6 maths paper). My DD who is doing SATS this summer is predicted 5Bs across the board. She didn't pass the grammar school tests.

No, that's very definitely not the case, especially across most of the Midlands where University of Durham CEM tests are used in most places (Birmingham, Warwickshire, Walsall, Newport and Telford). SATS are measuring achievment against the national curriculum while 11+ tests are trying to identify academic potential (although it helps to have a good level of overall literacy, i.e. a high reading age). Our son got into Camp Hill Boys with a level 5 in Maths (having only moved up to the top set in Y5 summer term) and level 4 in English (it would have been a 4a if they gave sub-levels).

Conversely, many children achieve level 5 at KS2 but don't qualify for GS in B'ham.

Mike

The CEM exam tests very different areas to the SATS, particularly in English.

Ds1 was also level 4 writing (level 5 reading and level 6 maths) in his SATs. So clearly to say a level 5 across the board is a must would not be correct.

However, Michael Rosen was level 4 too when he took the SATs writing paper a few years ago.

His teacher assured me that ds1 was capable, just hadn't jumped through enough 'SATs hoops' in the writing paper. He went on to get 1 in English on his Camp Hill reports so far.

Hi to all. Do not be silly. My DC at one of the grammars in Birmingham(y7) and many kids are still get level 5 in core ks2 subjects. At some subjects like PE, art,D&T,drama,languages kids get even lower than level 5. Take it easy.

Hmmmm, so looks like not a strong correlation between the SATS and success at Grammar tests.

I remember one tutor we used short term, insisting students who had a chance of passing had to be level 5 AT THE END OF YEAR 5!

Hi, an interesting post.. I wish there was more of a correlation as I may feel for confident about the whole 11 plus! Ds obviously hasn't had any reports or grades so far in yr 5, he did exceed his termly targets. He got 4bs at end of yr 4 so was doing well. Hoping this year will the same. But like previous posters said, not a great way of measuring exam success, any child high achieving or not can fall to pieces faced with an exam and exam pressures. We'll just carry on as we are and hope it's enough. Also just wanted to say as a newcomer to the forum the advice and info I've read already has been of great help so thank you all very much!
Lottie

My DS will be sitting for Level 6 Sats in both Math and English in May 2012 as his teacher feels he is at that standards now. He's got Scholarship offer from KES and will be starting Yr7 there in September 2012.

I think if you are a Level 5 standard you've got a very good chance of getting into one of the GS.

I may be wrong as I'm very new to this field and just finished working with DS1 and 2 more to go.

About a third of children will get L5 in SATS. About 7% of secondary places in B'ham are GS. So if you're L5 you've about a 75-80% chance of being disappointed if you apply for a GS place.

My own opinion, for what it's worth, is that if you're L5 in Y5 you stand a good chance of getting a place at KES or KEHS, but I wouldn't even try to predict a GS place on the back of SATS levels, it's a totally different ball game.

Mike

The value of SATs is a hot debate that has been discussed to death already on other forums.

If it's 11+ prep, personally we did not waste any time worrying about SATs.

To prove their worth you can download past SAT sample papers at the same time I would also download past exam papers from MGS, Aske, NLCS, Habs as a guide for 11+.

Get your child to sit a KS3 Maths followed by the indie tests and compare the results, you will then realise the 'level' the school is aiming for and the 'level' your child needs to be aiming for.

If your child is already doing well, constant reassurance from a school that they are top of the class and you do not need to worry is very high risk. This may provide a false comfort level, where you feel content. Personally ignore the school and set your own targets, look at the 11+ exams as a way of targeting areas of weakness and plan on developing these be it English comprehension, complex Maths problems, and outside of this practice NVR.

You will know what your DC best weak areas are, and I would use this time as efficiently as possible to strengthen as many areas if you want a decent chance of passing the 11+.

Some remarks and off topic posts have been removed. Please stay on topic
Mitasol