Disheartened over mock

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tropicmama
Posts: 78
Joined: Thu May 12, 2016 3:20 pm

Disheartened over mock

Post by tropicmama »

My DS just had his first mock and whilst I have no benchmark to compare it to, he received a 62%. I was told that students should consistently be getting 80% and above in mocks to have a good chance of passing the Bucks transfer test. Is this true? I'm having second thoughts now whether or not my DS would thrive in a GS or indeed be suitable to attempt it :(
scary mum
Posts: 8841
Joined: Mon Mar 15, 2010 3:45 pm

Re: Disheartened over mock

Post by scary mum »

tropicmama wrote:My DS just had his first mock and whilst I have no benchmark to compare it to, he received a 62%. I was told that students should consistently be getting 80% and above in mocks to have a good chance of passing the Bucks transfer test. Is this true? I'm having second thoughts now whether or not my DS would thrive in a GS or indeed be suitable to attempt it :(
The test is months off - my DCs did the old style test, so I'm no expert on CEM, but they didn't even attempt papers until July, at which point they couldn't even complete a full paper in the time needed. Bucks schools are not superselective and most people consider that mocks are not needed. I really wouldn't worry at this stage, just look at areas of weakness & practice a few papers at home.
scary mum
Guest55
Posts: 16254
Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 2:21 pm

Re: Disheartened over mock

Post by Guest55 »

+ 1

There is no need for a mock for Bucks tests. The only benefit might be if you are OOC and want to practise sitting a test in a strange place but the familiarisation test does that.

Forget it and move on - the % needed are lower for the CEM test.
Sally-Anne
Posts: 9235
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 8:10 pm
Location: Buckinghamshire

Re: Disheartened over mock

Post by Sally-Anne »

We have estimated from past data that the % required to pass the Bucks CEM test is around 55 - 60%, so whoever told you 80% (the mock test provider ...?) doesn't know what they are talking about.
Daogroupie
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Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Herts

Re: Disheartened over mock

Post by Daogroupie »

The whole point of a mock is to give you information about where your dc is at this point in time. Parents use mocks to plan the rest of their preparation time until the test.

Did they break down the mark between NVR, VR and Maths for you? That will help you focus your study sessions.

You have lots of time to work on weak areas; some students will not have even started yet.

So take heart and use the results to help you, not drag you down.

Did he think it had gone well or did he run out of time? DG
tropicmama
Posts: 78
Joined: Thu May 12, 2016 3:20 pm

Re: Disheartened over mock

Post by tropicmama »

Thank you all so much, I feel better after reading your encouraging messages. My DS is quite diligent so I didn't want my feelings to be obvious to him as it might have discouraged him. I let him sit the mock because as I am very new to the process, I wanted to see which areas we needed to especially work on with only less than 4 months to go - there was a breakdown of the results and his NVR and maths are quite strong (both in the mid-70s). This makes it obvious that his verbal and comprehension skills are quite weak (er). We need to work harder on those two areas.

He didn't run out of time, which is a miracle in itself. I suppose kids normally do not like being timed/rushed. He felt like he did "okay" - he is normally vague like that but always cheerful and upbeat so he might have said the same had he struggled :) At this moment, I think his main strength is that he is very laid back and unflappable, I have yet to see him fazed about anything but sometimes this can be frustrating as I don't know how much he wants something or how determined he is.
Guest55
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Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 2:21 pm

Re: Disheartened over mock

Post by Guest55 »

Are you in Bucks or OOC?
Daogroupie
Posts: 11100
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Herts

Re: Disheartened over mock

Post by Daogroupie »

There you are you see! The mock served its purpose and gave you the information you needed. There are lots of papers you can use to improve comprehension and Vocab.

His personality will help him a great deal in CEM. The timing can be very stressful for ten year olds. I see far more tears in CEM than all other subjects put together. DG
tropicmama
Posts: 78
Joined: Thu May 12, 2016 3:20 pm

Re: Disheartened over mock

Post by tropicmama »

Guest55, we live in Bucks so fingers-crossed if my DS qualifies, we have two fine GSs that we are within catchment for (and another two that are just about 0.5m OOC - my son's preference is actually one of these two).

Daogroupie, no tears as yet. I had to tell him, while waiting for the mock exam to start, to look at bit more serious and look like he means business like the other children in the waiting room. He was happily playing with his little sister. Although I don't want to jinx it in case he has a meltdown the day of the actual test.
Guest55
Posts: 16254
Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 2:21 pm

Re: Disheartened over mock

Post by Guest55 »

OK - so he will sit the test in his own school which will help.

The familiarisation will go through the 'routine' of listening to the CD for timings etc.
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