11+ test error

[SunlampVexesEel]

...It is clear that a child taking the replacement test would need to achieve a higher raw score - perhaps two marks higher - than a child taking the original 1st Bucks paper.

And therefore the paper must have been easier than the original.

[Hope]

I am not sure at all about this, it seems very complicated! It looks to me like the children taking the replacement paper could have been disadvantaged but what about the children taking the original paper, the pass mark may have been increased because some of the children/parents who had access to the paper before it was changed may have got improved results so increasing the pass mark on the original paper one. Or have I got the wrong end of the stick completely......

[chinup]

I think that the original paper was replaced between the original test date and the date on which central testing was done for (most) OCC candidates, so that, barring anyone who took the original paper between these dates (eg because ill), that kind of cheating unlikely. But you are right in that, in a case where two different papers are used, nothing is ever perfect. A harder first paper, or indeed a paper with a different mix of question types, could have 'thrown' candidates and led them to perform rather differently. They just have to manage these things as best they can in the circumstances.

[chinup]

NB I am not for a moment suggesting that candidates who were ill cheated! - just saying that (I think) only a few took the original paper in that interim period before it was replaced.

[Sally-Anne]

As far as I am aware (and I think my sources are reliable) no child took the original paper after it was leaked. The physical papers were recalled within 24 hours and the decision to set a replacement paper was made very shortly after that.

At least that is one thing we don't have to contend with!

[Hope]

Thats good. So the only problem is really for the children who took the new paper 1 as they could have been disadvantaged depending on how the standardisation was done. Difficult to know how to use in appeal if your child is one of those, but probably worth a mention.

[redsummer]

Hope, you finish your last message by saying that the issue is worthy of mention at appeal. In what manner do you suggest this is worthy of mention? In our case our child's better score was in the second test, so the fact that the first test was changed has less of an impact, I think, unless it knocked the confidence levels by being harder than it should have been. What do you think?

[Hope]

Hi redsummer

I think it is only worth a mention if your child was an ooc and took the replacement 1st test otherwise I think the effect of the replacement paper was minimal.

Good luck with your appeal