Age standardisation - is there a formula

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Tizzy
Posts: 22
Joined: Thu Mar 05, 2009 12:12 pm

Age standardisation - is there a formula

Post by Tizzy »

Hi

I'm new here, and would be very grateful for some help. My son has just 'scraped' through to Bishop Vesey, and I just wondered if there was a set formula I could apply to his marks to work out how the age standardisation works.

The reason I want to know is that he didn't sit the exam in October as he has special needs. He sat it (I think?) on 9 November, so I'm assuming his score would have been different if he'd sat on the main exam day?

Sorry if this is confusing. I'm just concerned that as he appears to be the bottom scorer to get in, he's going to struggle so I'm panicking.

Thanks for your help.
jah
Posts: 66
Joined: Tue Feb 26, 2008 3:31 pm

Post by jah »

My understanding is that it certainly used to be a set of tables.
Tizzy
Posts: 22
Joined: Thu Mar 05, 2009 12:12 pm

Post by Tizzy »

Hi Jah,

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I've tried looking on the NFER website, but as I'm a maths-phobic it means nothing to me! :?

I'm sure the answer is already on this site somewhere, so I'm currently ploughing through all the possible threads to see if I can find an answer that I might understand!

Thanks again.
Tizzy
Posts: 22
Joined: Thu Mar 05, 2009 12:12 pm

Post by Tizzy »

Just a note to fm if you happen to see this, I've pm'd you (I think??), but wanted to say a very big thank you for your note.

Tizzy
homelygirl
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Mar 05, 2009 1:00 am

Post by homelygirl »

Hi, I've just rang the Birmingham admissions today ( 675 0555 ) and they said that all who took the girls grammer/Bishop vesey would be sent a letter, it's in the post apparently but they kindly e-mailed my daughter's results. The lowest mark for Bishop Vesey is shown as 327 ( lowest for Sutton Girls is 324....same test for both schools ) so it seems that the boys may have done slightly better?!. I was told that 1525 girls sat for test and there were 165 places. I assume numbers for boys would be similar. I'm told that if they are an early birthday ( Sep-dec ) they have fewer marks added. Having said that the marks that are added are not huge so even if he has scraped through it means he's done very well. Might help if you see his actual mark. I was worried as my daughter is a June b'day and although she had a good mark I also thought that if she scraped through she would be the lowest ability in the school. But, having talked to a lot of others it seems that if they can get through test they can certainly handle school. :)
essex-mum18
Posts: 218
Joined: Sun Nov 25, 2007 12:09 am

Re: Age standardisation - is there a formula

Post by essex-mum18 »

Tizzy wrote:Hi

I'm just concerned that as he appears to be the bottom scorer to get in, he's going to struggle so I'm panicking.
Hi Tizzy

Although I do not know the formula for age standardisation, the following thread which I posted last year may be useful to you.

http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... highlight=
Tizzy
Posts: 22
Joined: Thu Mar 05, 2009 12:12 pm

Post by Tizzy »

Hello Essex-mum 18 and homelygirl

Thank you so much for responding to me. I really wish I'd found this website months ago as I can't believe how helpful people have been. I am definitely feeling a lot more reassured now.

For info, my son got 108 / 135 which after standardisation gave a score of 328, so definitely near the bottom. (I also found out from the LEA that 1,493 boys sat the test, for 124 places). However, having read Essex-mum's thread from last year, I'm starting to believe I might be worrying too much. In a way, I think it would be better not to know where they've been placed, in fact I haven't told my son because I don't want to knock his confidence before he starts!

Many thanks to everyone once again.

Tizzy
essex-mum18
Posts: 218
Joined: Sun Nov 25, 2007 12:09 am

Post by essex-mum18 »

[quote="Tizzy"]

I also found out from the LEA that 1,493 boys sat the test, for 124 places........In a way, I think it would be better not to know where they've been placed, in fact I haven't told my son because I don't want to knock his confidence before he starts!

Hi, Tizzy

You son has done very well in considering the number of applicants.

I think you are right not to tell your son about the ranking. You do not want a child to start at a new school with an inferiority complex. IMHO, sometimes an exam day is just a snapshot of how a child performed on one particular day.
homelygirl
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Mar 05, 2009 1:00 am

Post by homelygirl »

Hi Tizzy/Essex mum, When I rang the school to find out results they actually said that they don't like to give out this info because they believe all the kids should come in on a level footing. They say that the fact they got in against such fierce competition is enough. We should agree with that but I have found that as a parent we are under pressure to make sure 'our' child is 'the best'. After having almost a week to absorb results I feel that the fact the child has gained a place is something to be very proud of. I really feel for the kids who missed by one or two marks.

I also agree that if you find your child has scraped through it does make you feel that they are the lowest but what you have to remember is the kids who do get in are generally in the top groups so are 'best' at primary school. Once they are in grammer the 're shuffle' could place them in bottom group but the way I like to think of it is that they would be in top group at state secondary. I also don't want my daughter to think that she just made it but really, how can our kids scrape through when odds are so high?.. to be one of the 124 out of 1493 is not easy to get. And lets be honest not everyone can be top!!!
homelygirl
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Mar 05, 2009 1:00 am

Post by homelygirl »

sorry forgot to add, formula table for age standardisation is at

http://www.nfer.ac.uk/nfer/index.cfm?25 ... 891278C934
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