King Edward birmingham

[KenR]

I have some further information on the King Edward Grammar School Tests with may help clear up a few points. (Please note that I obtained this 2nd hand - I believe it to be correct but can't guarantee)

(Note: this only applies to KE exams not the other B/Ham LEA run 11+ tests)

The exam is administered by the Curriculum Evaluation & Mgt Centre at Durham University. There are 2 papers:

Paper1 : Proof Reading: Literacy Skills/Verbal reasoning (synonyms); Mathematics.

Paper2 : Reasoning; Non verbal reasoning; Reading Comprehension.

Children write their answers in the test booklets and most of the questions will be multiple choice. The marks will be standardised to take account of differences in age and then added together

Verbal Reasoning in paper1 to include synonym pairing with vocabulary aimed at Reading age > 13.5 years

e.g. each question requires the child to match pairs as below:-

- VOLATILE, loud, explosive, talkative, welcoming
- FLOURISH, thrive, fade, ruin. dismal, flowers, deluge
-FRIVOLOUS, friendly, sociable, pleasant, silly, sensible

ETC, ETC

Not much but hope this helps.

I suspect that the general vocabulary content of the NFER papers is such that children who score well on these tests will probably be able to handle the new format.

[Nunkey]

Thanks Ken R for your latest contribution, but I remain confused - your original post links to a presentation suggesting a radical change of approach with all sorts of stuff about cognitive aspects, resistance to prepping, a measure of potential rather than taught knowledge, tests presented as a series of puzzles etc - but your second post implies an approach that seems familiar – or am I just confused by the edu-speak on the Durham Uni website? Surely the kind of verbal reasoning examples you give can be easily prepped? I appreciate that your info is second hand etc, but a little knowledge is a dangerous thing (in my case anyway).

I have also come across anecdotal accounts (nothing more than rumours and hearsay) from other parents that the goalposts have been moved to make the test less sensitive to prepping because allegedly kids were getting in having been hot-housed for extended periods and then struggling once at the school – IMHO this speaks volumes about the teaching approach at the KE institutions when it seems they can’t cope with a very narrow band of high ability pupils – how hard can it be to teach the top 10% - where is the value add there, then? But I rant and digress as usual.

On the one hand I am loathe to prepare my child for the usual VR/NVR/Maths and Eng tests if the approach has radically changed - what is the point if the child is faced with something totally different on the day? It would probably put them at a disadvantage if they've been coached to expect a certain format and then oops - it’s something totally alien! – On the other, should I just carry on regardless in the hope that it’ll all come out OK in the end – not an approach that sits particularly comfortably – there are too many uncertainties.

[KenR]

In response to Nunkey's last post, I think there is difference between the marketing claims on the Durham Uni Web site and the practical impact.

I suspect, in practice, the new format reduces the impact of heavy tutoring but no more than that. Plenty of practice on Maths, English, VR and Non-VR papers is still essential. Although we didn't pay for additional tutors for our children, we still spent significant amounts of time working through a whole range of practice papers. My daugther passed the old style KE exam a few years ago and my son takes the Camp Hill exam on Saturday. The success (or failure) of our approach will no doubt be revealed on the 1st March 2006!

The main problem with the KE system is down to the popularity and hence statistics of success. We were told by the Camp Hill Boys Head at the recent Open Day that, for 2005 entry, over 1,200 parents had included Camp Hill somewhere in the B/Ham LEA preference list and that they only offered places for the first 100 boys. Even if you assume that only 50%(low???) of those parents had put this down as their 1st choice, this still means that there is statistically only a 1 in 6 chance of a boy getting a place. Or, to put it another way, a lot of very bright and capable boys will not get a place.

In respect of the exam format, I was told that in the 1st year it was introduced children were given an English passage to read for about 5 minutes and then the text had to be handed back and children were given a number of comprehension questions to answer. I believe this caused uproar amongst many parents and a lot of children were in tears as they couldn't cope. I'm not sure if this has been repeated since.

Interestingly, I have also heard 2nd hand that for the 2003 exams, although the exam type changed, the pass mark requirements still remained similar to the old style tests; viz. an average age standardised score of 115 points for each module to pass Camp Hill (87th percentile) and 112 points for Five Ways( 85th percentile). Perhaps that reinforces the view that the Durham Uni approach does indeed include a lot of Educational marketing hype!

[Guest]

We can discuss this ad infinitum, but in my opinion, if your child is bright and is at the top of the class at primary school, then, all things being right, he/she should get into the school. The KE Foundation is concerned about excessive coaching by private schools and wish to extend their 'catchment'. If your child has prepared and practised don't worry, as they should be fine - private schools shouldn't have any advantage, as they only have access to the same test papers. My child sits the test on Saturday and I feel happy that I have done all I can to help without making her childhood a misery.

[english-skills]

You would be foolish, in my view, not to undertake some form of exam practice. Exam technique and well-thought out preparation are essential for success. Ideally your practice should start 3 months to one year before sitting the test.

[moseleymum]

You do realise this is a thread from 2005?

[UmSusu]

moseleymum, I think english-skills was advertising a link to his website but this has since been removed and we have been left with a bizarre reference to an old post - maybe it was just to make KenR all nostalgic when he reads it and wish he could do it all over again with his children ?

Anyway, I will add another few words to my ever expanding vocabulary list......

[sss]

I personally thought we were onto something there.
Maybe the Dr prescribed the wrong medicine?

[english-skills]

This thread came up as the first entry on google when I searched for Birmingham 11+

I did refer to my English skills blog, based on my experience as a teacher and an academic. It covers all English exams from 11+ to GCSE, A-level and University Finals.

With the moderator's kind permission, here is the link:

http://english-skills-success.blogspot.co.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

What has been YOUR recent experience of the English component of the 11+ in Birmingham?