Maths Test Papers

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milada
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Joined: Mon Feb 27, 2012 1:00 pm

Maths Test Papers

Post by milada »

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Last edited by milada on Mon Jan 26, 2015 2:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
mikedellfarm
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Re: Maths Test Papers

Post by mikedellfarm »

deleted by the ex-mod!.. and they are tough.

Sorry, we have problems with advertising on the forum for products that aren't sold on the site.

Please pm details, thanks
bravado
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Re: Maths Test Papers

Post by bravado »

milada wrote:Hello all,

What test papers/publishers do you find the closest to the test or most useful for preparation in Maths for the CSSE exam? So far I have been unable to find papers in the same format as the exam. After covering the theory with DS, I started giving him Schofield & Simms exercise books and now he is going through some papers from independent schools but they are not in the same format as the Essex test (different length, time, difficulty). I have some exam past papers and DS will do these closer to the exam but they would not be enough so I would really appreciate some advice on this. I have looked in the shop section of the website which suggests mainly Bond. Parents whose DCs have done the exam already, what is your experience and advice on this please?

Many Thanks

Milada
The Louise Staples papers available as downloads on this site, are very close in format.

There's nothing wrong in doing GL, Bond (exam papers as opposed to books), IPS, Alpha, Athey etc as they provide a variety of formats in terms of questions. We did these with no ill-effects whatsoever on DD2's preparation. The different lengths of exams/tests shouldn't really present an issue because it's the timing aspect of exam technique that most candidates will be focussing on perfecting from here-on in, regardless of whether it follows the CSSE format. DD2 adjusted her timings as appropriate ie 1/4, 1/2 way, 3/4 way and then 10 minutes to go. I firmly believe that this approach, ie a variety of question formats and exam duration, really finely-honed her exam technique skills.

Everyone's different but it worked for us. Of course it's good to get them used to the CSSE format but familiarity can very easily breed contempt and for some children who have a tendency to go into meltdown when presented with something unfamiliar in an exam situation, getting them out of their comfort zone during preparation can really help on the day.

There's another site that offers a format similar to CSSE Maths but forum rules mean I can't mention it.
milada
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Joined: Mon Feb 27, 2012 1:00 pm

Re: Maths Test Papers

Post by milada »

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Last edited by milada on Mon Jan 26, 2015 2:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
bravado
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Re: Maths Test Papers

Post by bravado »

milada wrote:Thank you both for your replies and suggestions. I guess there is nothing wrong in using as wider variety of papers as possible, it can only be beneficial, of course. I am just concerned that there is not much time left now and would like to focus on the papers that are most relevant.

Thanks again.
You're very welcome.

One of the other reasons why we chose to do other publishers, was that we knew we'd run out of past CSSE papers if we only did those :lol: We kept some back for the last 2 - 3 weeks before the exam.

Don't forget that with a bit of ingenuity, you can use other publishers for quick 10 or 15 minute tests - we took chunks of questions for DD2 when we'd completed the Bond 10-Minute Maths books :D
milada
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Re: Maths Test Papers

Post by milada »

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Last edited by milada on Mon Jan 26, 2015 2:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Daogroupie
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Re: Maths Test Papers

Post by Daogroupie »

I completely agree with Bravado about using a range of publishers so that your dc will recognise questions asked in a slightly different format. Is there anything to stop them changing the format this year just to keep the applicants on their toes? I use CSSE Maths papers for preparation for HBS, QE, DAO and the North London indys so I would recommend using DAO maths papers that can be purchased from the school and the maths papers from the North London Consortium and Habs. I would suggest the same for English though these papers are all standard rather than mc. DG
ToadMum
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Re: Maths Test Papers

Post by ToadMum »

All we are told officially by CSSE is that there will be a Maths test of 35 minutes' duration (and an English test of 40 minutes and a VR test of 50 minutes) and that some past papers are available on the website and others from the CSSE office. Nothing about their precise format, so nothing to say that they have to be in the same format this year as last (or as any other year). DS2 has had it drummed into him that the tests he will be taking are the ones he finds when he opens the papers on September 21st :lol:

I had a lovely time :D last night with my trusty black Sharpie, turning the MC Lancaster Royal GS Maths papers that someone helpfully posted on another thread this week into Standard format (but who knows, we might yet get MC this year?).
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx
milada
Posts: 68
Joined: Mon Feb 27, 2012 1:00 pm

Re: Maths Test Papers

Post by milada »

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Last edited by milada on Mon Jan 26, 2015 2:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
bravado
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Re: Maths Test Papers

Post by bravado »

milada wrote:bravado, thank you once again. As always your advice is invaluable. You should write a guide book on how to tackle the Essex 11+! :wink:
Bless your heart :D

I wouldn't go overboard on the m/c and worry too much. Perhaps you can contact CSSE and ask them to clarify if the format of the English and Maths is likely to change for this sitting?

We did some GL Maths m/c papers and some English to ring the changes. We also did standard format GL VR but that's another story as I had an... ahem..."admin glitch" when ordering on Amazon :oops: :lol: Never mind, all good practice and it didn't hurt DD2 to do it - afterall, her sister and I had to do standard format VR :twisted: It was interesting to see how she coped on more challenging questions. without some answer choices being offered
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