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selective revision after first paper

Posted: Sat Sep 12, 2009 7:26 pm
by Tree
Hi all

i wondered what peoples feeling about this was is it worth trying to work out which types of question are left after the first paper and concentrating on practising them for the second? to be honest i can't see my son being able to remember what was in it and i'm not sure 1 week extra tuition on this will make much difference but i would be interested in peoples opinions. I was planning to kind of chill between the papers and not do much work ??

Posted: Sat Sep 12, 2009 7:33 pm
by zee
I know plenty of people do this, but I couldn't see the point with my boys.

I wanted them to concentrate on doing the test in front of them. If they knew I was going to ask what question types came up, that may have distracted them, and if I hadn't told them in advance, they'd probably have forgotten by the time they got home!

There is also a danger that they misremember, so practise the WRONG types.

DS1 didn't do any practise after test 1 - we were pretty confident with him. DS2 did a couple of papers covering all question types, plus a few extra of a couple of categories (I forget which) that he found trickier.

But each to their own - we all just want to do what we think is best for our kids.

Posted: Sat Sep 12, 2009 8:31 pm
by andyb
I didn't mention the question types to DS before the first test but when he came home he was able to tell me what had come up. We didn't discuss remembering question types before the first test as zee said that would be a major distraction. We then looked specifically at the questions that would come up in the second paper. He did some practice on ones he found difficult. Was it beneficial? I don't know - he scored better on the second test by a couple of marks but then he was probably more relaxed.

Posted: Sat Sep 12, 2009 11:25 pm
by patricia
Dear Tree

The first paper will contain 12 types of questions.

The second paper will contain the other 9, plus a repeat of Zs plus 2 others from the 1st test.

You can choose to practice those 9 types between the 2 tests, nearly all my children remember in unison the same types. However Its a bit of a game of chance. you must remember there will be 2 from the 1st paper that you cannot identify, could they be the dreaded type, the type your child particularly finds difficult. [from experience the type my children find the most difficult is type F, finding the missing 3 letter word.]

The forum will not allow anyone to post details of the 1st test, whether its the types or a question or two remembered. The reason being there will be many children from out of county that will not sit their tests until after the dates offered to in county children. In addition any children that are sick on the day, will be sitting their tests at a later date too.

Patricia

Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2009 1:21 am
by Tree
do the children that sit the test later take the same test!! surely there is a risk that they may be able to get hold of the questions? how strict are the papers guarded surely someone could photocopy them? if you knew the questions beforehand i'm sure you could coach the child to get nearly 100% has that ever happened?

Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2009 9:28 am
by patricia
Dear Tree

All children take the same test regardless of when they take the test during the academic year.

Security is paramount, quote from BCC:

After checking, the test materials need to be stored in a secure place. It is advisable that this location is accessible to both the headteacher and/or any nominated representative. If any of these authorised persons are parents of pupils who are taking the tests, they must nominate other staff for the duration of the procedure and distance from the process.


Patricia

Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2009 3:48 pm
by BlimeyG'vnor
Out of all the local 11+ tutors that I know of in my area. Three out of four are actually year 6 teachers, and they do therefore have access to the 11+ papers year after year. Surely that is even worse than a parent having access? If, as may be possible, there are a number of papers that are merely rotated, eventually they could have access to all the questions that may appear.

Hopefully the papers are new each year.

Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2009 5:09 pm
by Sally-Anne
BlimeyG'vnor wrote:If, as may be possible, there are a number of papers that are merely rotated, eventually they could have access to all the questions that may appear.
We believe that the questions are drawn from a bank of several thousand, and that no two papers are the same. Any individual question is unlikely to appear again for decades.

S-A

Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2009 5:23 pm
by BlimeyG'vnor
Thanks Sally-Anne. That makes me feel better. Maybe I am just way too sceptical about the whole thing. And thanks Dad40 for the PM; will do.