lincs results 14/10/06

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ian

lincs results 14/10/06

Post by ian »

I hope I'm not alone in expressing dismay and disappointment at yesterdays results.The very late change in exam format left parents and pupils with so little time to prepare for taking a non- VR paper.Our Year 6 is an extremely talented cohort and many expected successes have not occured. It would appear that in their great haste to improve the intake with more mathematically able students Lincolnshire grammar schools have altered forever their student profile and certainly in the south of the county where there is great pressure on places from applicants from Peterborough they will now be denying local children what has traditionally been a place at their local grammar school.I am considering an appeal on these grounds amongst others and wonder if there are any like -minded parents out there who feel that their child has been unfairly treated by this quick fix method of gaining a brighter intake to try and bolster public examination results without an apparent raising of the standardised pass mark.
NEWBIE

NV

Post by NEWBIE »

My own understanding is that the role of NV is under review - which would to be expected in the first year of its implementation. However, there are as many voices on these forums in support as there are those against this type of paper. NV seems to have been widely used by other authorities, so it would seem unlikely that there was much mileage in your stance. I would agree that the inclusion has shaken-up the whole process - whether this ultimately proves to have been a positive move is clearly something which will become apparent over time. However, it is an interesting debate and one which I shall be taking a personal interest in.
Sandra
SJ
Posts: 171
Joined: Sat Sep 30, 2006 11:14 am
Location: Lincolnshire

Re: lincs results 14/10/06

Post by SJ »

ian wrote:The very late change in exam format left parents and pupils with so little time to prepare for taking a non- VR paper.
Which change in format are you referring to? The fact that NVR was included this year rather than just VR OR that the NFER practice papers sent to the primary schools indicated 5 sections of 12 questions each, total 60 questions with 6 minutes to complete each section but the actual exam contained 65 questions with 8 minutes per section?

We actually know of student who passed only having completed the practice papers and then completing the actual exam. He received no tuition or coaching and did no other practice papers of any sort.
ANDREW THE POET

PETERBOROUGH SCHOOLS

Post by ANDREW THE POET »

In respect of lack of preparation time for the NV paper I guess the schools would argue that these test aptitude and should not be prepared for beyond the familiarisation papers anyway even if the reality for most of us is something rather different. I can’t recall when the decision was taken to sit the NV, but we certainly knew many months ago. I suppose everyone sitting the exam was in the same boat, so there would be no disadvantage to any one group of candidates. We've had a similar experience here with some shock disappointments but, equally, some welcome surprises too.
Andrew
SJ
Posts: 171
Joined: Sat Sep 30, 2006 11:14 am
Location: Lincolnshire

Re: PETERBOROUGH SCHOOLS

Post by SJ »

ANDREW THE POET wrote:In respect of lack of preparation time for the NV paper I guess the schools would argue that these test aptitude and should not be prepared for beyond the familiarisation papers anyway even if the reality for most of us is something rather different. I can’t recall when the decision was taken to sit the NV, but we certainly knew many months ago. I suppose everyone sitting the exam was in the same boat, so there would be no disadvantage to any one group of candidates. We've had a similar experience here with some shock disappointments but, equally, some welcome surprises too.
Andrew
Agreed Andrew. When visting 2 local grammar schools they both advised that the students should only sit the familiarisation tests and I believe we were made aware in about March that NVR had been introduced. Everyone was in the same boat with regard to 65 not 60 questions and the number of questions in a section being altered etc also. Presumably the decision to include NVR this year was made some time ago by the consortium.
ANDREW THE POET

NON VERBAL REASONING

Post by ANDREW THE POET »

Thanks ......
Sorry to Ian, I'm probably partly swayed by my son's experience of the new exam which was generally positive. As previously indicated in a previous post, I think that the NVR was a boon to many of the boys who took this - we have spoken to very many. SGS are taking on more of a technical bias which might have been in their thoughts when looking to widen the nature of their intake.

Anyway, I can't see that there's a lot to argue with in respect of the school's position. Sample papers with the RIGHT number of questions should have been provided, but this is an issue with NFER rather than the schools themselves.

Sorry ...
Andrew
ANDREW THE POET

NON VERBAL REASONING

Post by ANDREW THE POET »

Thanks ......
Sorry to Ian, I'm probably partly swayed by my son's experience of the new exam which was generally positive. As previously indicated in a previous post, I think that the NVR was a boon to many of the boys who took this - we have spoken to very many. SGS are taking on more of a technical bias which might have been in their thoughts when looking to widen the nature of their intake.

Anyway, I can't see that there's a lot to argue with in respect of the school's position. Sample papers with the RIGHT number of questions should have been provided, but this is an issue with NFER rather than the schools themselves.

Sorry ...
Andrew
NEWBIE

??

Post by NEWBIE »

Don't catchment area get first bite of the cherry regarding places, so there is little chance of your pupils being deprived on this basis from those in Peterborough?
Sandra


It would appear that in their great haste to improve the intake with more mathematically able students Lincolnshire grammar schools have altered forever their student profile and certainly in the south of the county where there is great pressure on places from applicants from Peterborough they will now be denying local children what has traditionally been a place at their local grammar school.
SJ
Posts: 171
Joined: Sat Sep 30, 2006 11:14 am
Location: Lincolnshire

Re: ??

Post by SJ »

[quote="NEWBIE"]Don't catchment area get first bite of the cherry regarding places, so there is little chance of your pupils being deprived on this basis from those in Peterborough?
Sandra

This is my understanding. If you have reached the required standard and live in catchment you would be offered a place over someone from Peterborough with a higher score. The only time they would go out of catchment is if they cannot fill their allocated places.
Guest

Re: lincs results 14/10/06

Post by Guest »

ian wrote:I hope I'm not alone in expressing dismay and disappointment at yesterdays results.The very late change in exam format left parents and pupils with so little time to prepare for taking a non- VR paper.Our Year 6 is an extremely talented cohort and many expected successes have not occured. It would appear that in their great haste to improve the intake with more mathematically able students Lincolnshire grammar schools have altered forever their student profile and certainly in the south of the county where there is great pressure on places from applicants from Peterborough they will now be denying local children what has traditionally been a place at their local grammar school.I am considering an appeal on these grounds amongst others and wonder if there are any like -minded parents out there who feel that their child has been unfairly treated by this quick fix method of gaining a brighter intake to try and bolster public examination results without an apparent raising of the standardised pass mark.
Is the implication of what you say is that you think that the NVR paper will give a brighter set of students who will perform better in future exams, and therefore improve results for the schools?

Is it expected that the NVR paper will always favour children who are stronger at maths? Or is it more a test of logic?

Our daughter is very strong at English but quite weak at Maths, but in practice papers that she completed consistently scored more highly in the NVR.

Generally, if students across the board have struggled with the new format then the standardising process will automatically adjust downwards the raw score required to pass.
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