Sudden plummet

Advice on 11 Plus VR papers and problems

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dad_on_a_bike
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Sep 08, 2009 4:15 pm
Location: Bucks

Sudden plummet

Post by dad_on_a_bike »

We had the chance to check DD scores from her fam and test papers yesterday. In the Tutors ones we were doing at home she was getting 90%, and on the school familerisation paper she got 94%, but in the 2 test papers she dropped to about 65%. What struck me is that she got most of the maths and type z etc correct, but got nearly all the verbal ones wrong, ie find 2 words closest in meaning. We knew this was her weak point although she is an avid reader. Looking at the paper, she seems to have just looked at these and given up, or panicked. Any tips on how to get her through these?, (I wish it was nvr, she scored 98% on that!)
Milla
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Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2008 2:25 pm

Post by Milla »

well, this isn't exact, but a similar thing has happened at my boy's school. They tested them during the first 10 days of term and the children did pretty poorly, dropping to 4s when they'd been 5s in Y5, messing up their maths etc. My boy got 19/25 for spelling and that was the top mark - but he got silly ones wrong and his spelling is normally MUCH better than this.
The teacher said not to worry, blips always happen at this time of year, there's been teh long holidays, for one thing and it just takes a while to get back in the swing of things. Plus (and apologies for repeating myself, I seem to add this on every strand) I reckon we're all pretty bored of the whole thing by now - certainly the case at Maison Milla!
So try not to worry; easier said than done, I know, but she's shown she's got the ability and you're not alone in hoping it all gets dredged up satisfactorily on The Day!
Y
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Joined: Mon Mar 12, 2007 12:49 pm

Post by Y »

If she doesn't know how badly she did, then follow Sally-Anne's advice, and be creative with the truth. Otherwise, consider going through the wrong questions with her, to persuade her that she could do them really, and to encourage her to take a deep breath next time, and say 'I can do this'.
dad_on_a_bike
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Sep 08, 2009 4:15 pm
Location: Bucks

Post by dad_on_a_bike »

Yes, I did think I may go through the Tutors starter papers with her, which she did ages ago with good scores. If I can show her that she can do these and get the confidence back, I'm hoping it will stop her seizing up. I'm also wondering if she secretly wants to go to the local upper school instead, she was really impressed with the visit there.
patricia
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Joined: Mon Jan 30, 2006 5:07 pm

Post by patricia »

Dear dad_on_a_bike

Words will always be the biggest problem.

What papers do you have at home? You could go through all the vocabulary questions, rewrite them, discuss the meanings and find other words that may mean the same or opposite.

Unfortunately many avid readers are not necessarily good at explaining words found out of context. If they are left to their own devices, many will not ask the meaning of an unknown word because they get the drift of the paragraph without the need to know...

They need to discuss the content of the book, chat to parents about unkown vocabulary. Therefore children should be reading to parents at least 3 times a week through out their primary school days.

Patricia
dad_on_a_bike
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Joined: Tue Sep 08, 2009 4:15 pm
Location: Bucks

Post by dad_on_a_bike »

Sorry, I said Tutors back there, I have downloaded all the material from this site, the books we are working from at home are the IPS VR series.
We redid the verbal type questions over the weekend that she scored badly on in the mock, and again she got nearly all correct. But, we then started working through the vr common word list, and found quite a few of them she did not know the meaning of out of context, so I guess you are right, when reading they just skim over any unknown words. I think at this stage we are both happy to just take the exam and see what happens on the day.
patricia
Posts: 2803
Joined: Mon Jan 30, 2006 5:07 pm

Post by patricia »

Dear dad_on_a_bike

At this stage I would just repeat vocab questions you already have. Perhaps get her to read to you for the next week, discussing words where you think appropriate.

Good Luck
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