bit of help please decifering CAT scores etc!!

[muminTewkes]

Hi all,this isnt the right place probably but i thought id pick your brains anyway!
We asked for ds1's scores for this year(simply because,for reasons only known to the school they didnt want to tell us! )so I made it my mission to "know"....to save me Googling like mad can anyone explain these a little?
DS1 is sitting this October and is a Nov birthday,he's obv doing well (i think!)but how well?his school arent great on info im afraid and dont seem overly supportive of 11+

CAT-
QUANTITIVE 122
NON VERBAL 131
VERBAL 131
NFER reading-15+
VERNON SPELLING-15.03
QCA math-5b-raw score 88/90
QCA reading-5-raw score-43/50

The ages are self explanatory but are the cats good?ive heard that cat results are close to 11+ or is that just a myth like most other things?...yes,im clutching at any straw!!!!!
Hope everyones ok and not going to sleep doing codes in their head...just yet anyway!

[Milla]

I can't help in any meaningful way but if you bear in mind that 100 is construed as "average," that 85 = very low and 115 high, then you can clearly see that you are on to a good thing!
115 is meant to be the bench mark for "grammar material." Of course, On The Day goodness knows what can happen, but at this stage you should be comforted by this verification! Very good marks indeed.

You can also look here:
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... =5&t=13201

[muminTewkes]

oh thanks!brill!well thats cool then...........of course anything could happen!
I assume this is why the school dont tell us the scores!because of annoying parents like myself !I just dont like them knowing something I dont......!
Thanks Milla.

[Etienne]

Those CAT scores are very good.
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/11plus ... rs.php#b28

CATs are probably as close as you might get to the 11+, but they're standardised nationally (whereas 11+ tests might be standardised specifically for the cohort), and it's never possible to say that the same results would necessarily be achieved in the 11+.
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/11plus ... ers.php#b4
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/11plus ... rs.php#e10

Certainly encouraging, though!

[muminTewkes]

Any positive encouragement is good!!!thanks for the links-im becoming an expert now
I dont bank on anything in this life but ds1 is certainly pleased that he is doing ok.....strange boy-he LIKES to be "measured" !

[mike1880]

131 = 98th percentile (top 2%)
122 = 92nd percentile (top 8%)

Mike

[Milla]

wow! that's one clever boy!

[EmeraldE]

Those are excellent scores and you should be confident of success!

One small note of caution. One little chap at our sons school, last year, got a CAT score of 145 (highest in the school, apparently). Great things were predicted. Unfortunately he failed the entrance exam for reasons unknown and is going to the local comp. No idea how that happened or how well he was prepared for the test.

Also for those parents whose kids are not getting super scores on the CATs doors there is no need to feel down! My DS1 got 117 overall and he is starting Pates in September.

[muminTewkes]

EmeraldE-duly noted.Im certainly not the type to think ANYTHING is ever in the bag so to speak!11+ is a strange beast as Ive come to realise!
Gosh..this is all one huge learning curve.
Thankyou everyone-this place is a great information source..on..err...everything!

[capers123]

One small note of caution. One little chap at our sons school, last year, got a CAT score of 145 (highest in the school, apparently). Great things were predicted. Unfortunately he failed the entrance exam for reasons unknown and is going to the local comp. No idea how that happened or how well he was prepared for the test..

I'd have recommended going to appeal (if they were not happy with the comp, that is), and producing the CATS scores as evidence, as they would show that the 11+ result was probably a fluke. Some appeals panels tend to regard CAT scores as reliable evidence (as opposed to SATS, which can be influenced by the schools teaching the kids to pass them).

If the lad doesn't settle in, then they could appeal for Y8.