Should kids practice for the CAT exams on induction day?

Eleven Plus (11+) in Essex

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haystack
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Mar 10, 2010 3:26 pm

Should kids practice for the CAT exams on induction day?

Post by haystack »

Hello, new to this forum as only just found you all!

My DD has got into WHSG and I heard that they set their classes based on the results of the CAT exams not the SATs.

I also heard that they do these CATs on one of the induction days in July, please could someone confirm if this is true?

I was told that they set by ability from these test results and that it is common to drop a complete grade from their SATs and that this is normal as they are much harder.

Could anyone please confirm if this is correct and if so would it be advisable to give them some practice tests before they go as although they have done the Verbal Reasoning, many including my DD have not had experience of Non-Verbal Reasoning.

If so does anyone know of any practice papers for the CATs?
Milla
Posts: 2556
Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2008 2:25 pm

Post by Milla »

wouldn't it be better to be placed in the set which the results give without having got there by help? rather than artificially getting into one above and then struggling? would be horrible to feel out of ones depth from the off for the sake of a temporarily higher set I'd've thought.
haystack
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Mar 10, 2010 3:26 pm

Post by haystack »

Yes Milla, I'm all for natural talent, my daughter wasn't tutored for the 11+ but I did give her the familiarisation test for Verbal Reasoning as this was completely alien to her, and I like most others felt it would have been unfair to let her sit an exam with no idea of the basic concept of Verbal Reasoning. So I am just wondering if we should do the same with these CATs as I they would surely been in the same boat for Non-Verbal Reasoning wouldn't they? Is it kinda alien to them if they've never seen it?
GibsonES335
Posts: 62
Joined: Tue Mar 02, 2010 10:29 am

Post by GibsonES335 »

Milla wrote:wouldn't it be better to be placed in the set which the results give without having got there by help? rather than artificially getting into one above and then struggling? would be horrible to feel out of ones depth from the off for the sake of a temporarily higher set I'd've thought.
I think this is a really important point. I have 2 sons at GSs in Essex. Recently, 1 was dropped a set in Maths which for him was a bit demoralising. He was struggling and this did make him unhappy. Now he is in a lower set he is really thriving.

Remember these are selective schools. By definition it means that the least able in a year group is still ahead of those who did not get in. (I know it's not that simple but you get my drift?)

Don't worry about not being in the top set. What is more important is that your child is in the right group.
haystack
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Mar 10, 2010 3:26 pm

Post by haystack »

Thanks GibsonES335, but I am really not worried about her being in the top set at all, I totally want her to be set to her ability, I just don't want her to be put off by an unfamiliar concept. I mean how many on this forum DIDN'T familiarise their kids with the Verbal Reasoning before they sat the 11+? Very few, if any, I would guess. Therefore, shouldn't we do the same wth Non-Verbal if it carries so much weight in these CATs?
DiW
Posts: 36
Joined: Fri Oct 19, 2007 9:16 am
Location: Essex

Post by DiW »

Hi
My daughter is at WHSG - their forms are not set on the CATS results. They are actually put in their forms before the induction day and the CATS tests so there is no way that the results could be used to set their forms.
They are set for maths in year 8 but this is after a whole year of school so is based on the ability that they have shown throughout the year.
Hope this puts your mind at rest.
Di
DiW
Posts: 36
Joined: Fri Oct 19, 2007 9:16 am
Location: Essex

Post by DiW »

Sorry - should also have said, I didn't prepare my daughter at all for the CATS and I'm not aware of anyone else that did either. As I said in another thread, my daughter is in Y8 and I have never found out the results of the CATs that she took and have no idea what, if anything, they were used for. She had never done an NVR paper but said they were straightforward and there was nothing she couldn't do.
haystack
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Mar 10, 2010 3:26 pm

Post by haystack »

Thanks DiW, yes it does put my mind at rest though I just don't understand why a mum of a year 7 girl would tell me that they are set by these CATs then, or if they are not important, why they give them on induction day? I guess I'm more nervous that my DD is and I'm feeling a bit sorry for her that they have the SATs over and done then they get tested again! But if they really are not that important then I don't think I will even tell her that they will be tested again as I think she'd flip at the thought of another exam! lol I wouldn't be their age again of all the tea in China!
SunlampVexesEel
Posts: 1245
Joined: Fri Jul 06, 2007 9:31 pm

Re: Should kids practice for the CAT exams on induction day?

Post by SunlampVexesEel »

haystack wrote:Should kids practice for the CAT exams on induction day?
:shock: You are joking.

It's time to put your feet up and enjoy life again.
Animis opibusque parati
Another worried Mum
Posts: 57
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2008 12:12 am

Post by Another worried Mum »

Just asked DD (Y8). She tells me that there is no need to practice for the tests at all. They were never given the scores and the tests were nothing like the 11+ test - in fact her words were that 'they were easy really'. She thinks that if your DD has already secured a place via the 11+, then she won't need to worry about the CATs at all!

As DiW has already said, the girls have already been allocated their forms in advance of these tests, so they are not used for this purpose either. I think that their main aim is to help the school in assessing its own performance in terms of value added scores, but perhaps someone else may know a bit more about that one! :?

There is more information on the tests available on line ( try http://www.satsguide.co.uk/help__other_ ... _tests.htm).
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