Timing

Advice on 11 Plus VR papers and problems

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Manana
Posts: 710
Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2011 3:22 pm

Timing

Post by Manana »

patricia wrote:
Thank you Patricia. I wish we were near you. You must have a waiting list years long!
Next 2 years booked, 3rd nearly booked. Taking for 2016 [siblings]
Are these the questions you leave till the end because they are so time consuming,
No, you are thinking of Zs.

Again once mastered these questions can be answered relatively quickly. I need the children to polish off all the codes and maths quickly,efficiently and accurately so they can spend longer "thinking" time on vocabulary questions where traps are laid. Free thinking is just not allowed on codes and maths, keep to the rules and get it right.
or would a typical 11+ examinee be expected to work out a number of questions all at this level?
The majority of questions within a section will be simpler. Often the test provider will throw in these "harder" versions towards the end of a section.
Also, I don't get how this is verbal reasoning. This is maths, is isn't it?
These tend to be used in areas where maths is not tested as a separate exam.

Patricia
Patricia-can I ask what do you use to speed the children up? DS did a VR paper yesterday and only got 65 correct in the 50 minutes, but needed another 5-10 minutes over the time before he'd actually finished and had got 75 right. I want him to stop scratching/yawning/telling me 'well, that was an easy one!' etc etc!

Will he just *get* it and be fast in a room with everyone else doing it? Should I just leave him to do it? He hates being timed and starts getting stressy (so I do it, but don't tell him!), but obviously needs to start getting faster?
patricia
Posts: 2803
Joined: Mon Jan 30, 2006 5:07 pm

Re: Timing

Post by patricia »

Dear Manana

I have split your post from the original thread as it is "off topic"

Timing will come with practice and encouraging [or in my case insisting!] your child to keep to method and techniques. Leave him to do the test alone. Leave the room and tell him you will ignore all "rumblings"

Start by producing a set of rules that he must keep to...

:: Test must be completed in silence [many of my parents tell me their children moan/talk/grumble/read questions out loud]

:: Anwser ALL questions.

:: Leave Zs till last [only one mark each for 2 questions that could potentially take 4/5/6/minitues] Random guess, move on and come back to at the end.

:: If unsure of an answer apply your method and techniques [eg. if its a compound word write out very quickly the words next to each other then come and dies becomes comedies]

:: If still unsure, ring the question number, guess and move on. Come back to at the end of the test.

:: Once Q 80 completed, go back to Zs

:: Once Zs completed go back to all ringed questions for a second look [ sometimes that second look produces a light bulb moment!]

:: Very last check make sure all answers on the answer sheet have been answered. [using a pencil hover down each question]

Most children will not finish tests in time, its practice. Tell him its a 50 minutes test and you will tell him when 50 minutes is up but he can carry on, no problem. You can draw a line where he is at 50 minutes. Once marked give him 2 scores one for 50 minutes and one for all time given.

In addition...

:: Explain neat writing is banned, its rough and quick, only he needs to read it [assuming mutiple choice]

:: Have a race with him, cut a test into small sections, photocopy one for him and one for you. [a little kidology let him beat you!]

:: Search the word timing there have been a few threads on the forum.

A little bribary goes a long way. Not for passing the real test! A reward [£! ?] for the following applying 1, then 1 and 2, then 1,2 and 3

1] Completing the test without moaning.

2] Completing the test in time.

3] Scoring over a certain %

Good Luck

Patricia
sbates
Posts: 31
Joined: Thu Jan 26, 2012 7:47 pm

Re: Timing

Post by sbates »

That's really useful Patricia, thank you for posting this. I too have found timing an issue, but not really focusing at this point to much as still working on techniques. Good to know how to structure it though and where the time should be allocated.
Orson
Posts: 238
Joined: Sun Jan 13, 2008 7:18 pm
Location: Gloucestershire

Re: Timing

Post by Orson »

The importance of exam technique cannot be overstated.
janet71
Posts: 166
Joined: Thu Feb 02, 2012 3:12 pm

Re: Timing

Post by janet71 »

Can I ask about "ringing" the unsure questions - As my DS exam is multiple choice where I presume the answer sheets are fed through a comupter I was unsure about how to "mark" the paper in other words if he wants to come back to something and not lose track of it can they put a ring around the question number or best to write it on a seperate sheet....Hope that makes sense - Also can they alter an answer once marked on the multiple sheet and how do they do that clearly....
copella
Posts: 1200
Joined: Thu Mar 04, 2010 3:51 pm

Re: Timing

Post by copella »

I advised my DS to put a mark on any of the possible answers and then ring the question sheet where he was unsure of the answere so that a) there is less possiblity he would then get his answers out of sequence and b) at least he would have an answer in case there is no time to go back and make the change needed.
3HMum
Posts: 14
Joined: Wed Oct 19, 2011 10:42 pm
Location: Croydon

Re: Timing

Post by 3HMum »

I have found so much help since I have joined this forum. Thanks Patricia for these clues they are immensely appreciated.My DD very often acts the same (yawn,moan,grumble) but it seems that she does less of these the more she practises test papers with timing. I still feel so new to 11+ and hope that we are on the right track doing it all at home by ourselves. :(
janet71
Posts: 166
Joined: Thu Feb 02, 2012 3:12 pm

Re: Timing

Post by janet71 »

I find the more I get my DS to do on a regular basis (a little each day now hes upto speed) the less he moans - I naturally followed the advice on exam practice patricia outlines so glad I was doing that right - logically I didnt see any reason to waste time on typeZ questions unless you have the time and as 10yr olds dont really have experience of "real tests" they dont appreciate time is important its not just about working your way through it.
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