Bucks Eleven plus exam format

Eleven Plus (11+) in Buckinghamshire (Bucks)

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LeprechaunQueen
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Joined: Fri Oct 11, 2013 9:42 pm

Re: Bucks Eleven plus exam format

Post by LeprechaunQueen »

My understanding was that it was not lawful under data protection to hold such quantitative information on individuals that you did not disclose to the individuals concerned. Perhaps I have that wrong?
scary mum
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Joined: Mon Mar 15, 2010 3:45 pm

Re: Bucks Eleven plus exam format

Post by scary mum »

Tolstoy wrote:Pates have never given out scores to those DC who are in their top 120 so it must be possible. Part of me wonders if some of the excessive tutoring going on in Bucks is about getting high scores rather than a simple pass. The whole thing does bring out the competitive in even the most docile of folk.
I'm not sure about that - many people from outside the area simply don't know that there is a cut off of 121 - hence all the questions when the results come out. It's human nature though, isn't it, to not only want your child to pass, but to do well - in most areas of life the score or grade counts. It's a little bit similar to the driving test - I was very proud of my daughter's driving test results (partly for self confidence reasons for her), but actually the number of "minors" is irrelevant if they pass - no insurance company asks how many they got. I'm slightly playing devils advocate here as it makes my skin crawl when people start posting scores, but really, are they are just proud (or ignorant :))? Does it contribute to the tutoring culture? I don't really think so, the Bucks people in the know just want to get their child over that magic score.
scary mum
mystery
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Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2009 10:56 pm

Re: Bucks Eleven plus exam format

Post by mystery »

When I first joined this forum it was the previous Bucks test which, for some unfathomable reason, had for years just been a VR paper, on two separate days, produced by GL assessment to Bucks specification. I don't know why Bucks chose to buy just VR from GL assessment but that was their decision for many years.

The Bucks forum was full of threads about the very high raw score needed to pass the Bucks VR test. I found it incredibly high and never could quite believe it (but I am sure it had to be true as there were some very knowledgeable people contributing as now).

This meant that people felt they had to tutor and practise as much as possible in order get the very high raw scores needed to pass.

Why would this all just fade away overnight even if the new test was "tutor-proof" - which it clearly isn't.

I agree that in a pass-only county like Bucks the raw score and standardised score does not matter so long as the child has achieved the magic number. But where there's "just one chance" some people feel much more comfortable aiming for a high score because it feels like a "safety margin" if the child is under par on the test day for some reason or other. Also, some children find it harder than others in a test where they can't do all the questions (either because of level of difficulty or time pressure) and it flummoxes them even for the ones they can do. So parents try to get them to the point where they feel they can tackle the whole paper reasonably successfully to avoid the potential disaster panic on the day.

Also, there are people who at the same time as preparing for Bucks are preparing for more rigorous challenges elsewhere.

Then, of course, there's the slim chance that some of your Bucks grammar academies do at some point decide to change their admission criteria and go superselective --- but that can't happen overnight.
scary mum
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Joined: Mon Mar 15, 2010 3:45 pm

Re: Bucks Eleven plus exam format

Post by scary mum »

Some of them used to, many years ago, but they had to stop, I'm not sure of the ins & outs of it, but remember seeing things about it before. This may also be a reason why people feel the need to get high scores.
scary mum
Marylou
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Joined: Sat Feb 25, 2006 2:21 am

Re: Bucks Eleven plus exam format

Post by Marylou »

scary mum wrote:Some of them used to, many years ago, but they had to stop, I'm not sure of the ins & outs of it, but remember seeing things about it before. This may also be a reason why people feel the need to get high scores.
Until 10 years ago ( :o ), score was used as one of the main oversubscription criteria and distance didn't come into it except possibly to decide between two candidates with the same score. That meant getting a high score was particularly important for OOC applicants, as even if you lived just outside the catchment area and scored 121 you would be ranked below someone from much further away with a higher score. Hence the myth around here that "if you're OOC you have to score at least 130 to stand a chance", which is still bandied about at school gates to this day! :roll:
Marylou
Guest55
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Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 2:21 pm

Re: Bucks Eleven plus exam format

Post by Guest55 »

Marylou - I think that was just for RLS and it was only in place for a couple of years prior to that.

Some Bucks GS did require higher scores than 121; but as you say that went at least 10 possible more years ago as it was certainly not in place for the 2004 test.
Marylou
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Joined: Sat Feb 25, 2006 2:21 am

Re: Bucks Eleven plus exam format

Post by Marylou »

That's right - its why I qualified it as a "local" myth but you can see how it sprang up, as there were always enough OOCs with high scores for them to fill up the places and still be in the 130s. The last test taken under the old rules was in 2003 (for 2004 admission). I vaguely remember some oversubscribed schools elsewhere in the county asking for more than 121 but I can't recall a specific figure.
Marylou
Rob Clark
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Joined: Tue Nov 25, 2008 1:59 pm

Re: Bucks Eleven plus exam format

Post by Rob Clark »

Marylou, I don't think that is quite right…

What is true is that both Challoner's schools used to have a 'super' pass score of, I think, 127, so in those days there was a kind of unofficial hierarchy. But that was abandoned around a decade ago – DS went to DCGS in 2007 and it hadn't been in operation for at least 2 years prior to that.

Also the catchment area has constricted over the years. I have a good friend who lived on the far side of Gerrards Cross when we were kids (ie over the A40), and he was always going to get into DCGS in distance terms. Nowadays, living there would be decidedly iffy (purely in terms of getting into DCGS I mean :lol: )

Although I stand to be corrected on any of this by Sally-Anne :D
Guest55
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Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 2:21 pm

Re: Bucks Eleven plus exam format

Post by Guest55 »

Marylou is correct about OOC oversubscription for RLS - it changed around the time 11+ came in (instead of 12+) and then disappeared again after a few years.
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