GL Assess Pack 2 - are these bad questions or is it just me?

Advice on 11 Plus VR papers and problems

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Cassandra
Posts: 16
Joined: Mon Feb 08, 2010 8:44 pm
Location: Buckinghamshire

GL Assess Pack 2 - are these bad questions or is it just me?

Post by Cassandra »

Hi everyone,

I'm helping a friend's daughter prepare for the 11+ this year and have just bought GL Assessment Pack 2 (this wasn't out when I tutored my own son a couple of years ago).

I'm just going through the papers myself first and have found a couple of questions that I really don't think are very good and am tempted to cross out. I just wondered what everyone else thought of these (apologies if they've been mentioned before and I've missed the thread).

Paper 6 Q12 (Closest in meaning)

(recent latter former)
(yesterday today tomorrow)

Answer is recent/yesterday.

So, this answer will contradict my advice in relation to previous practice papers that the words should be from the same part of speech (eg both nouns or both adjectives)

Paper 6 Q 14 (Closest in meaning)

(see look listen)
(hear noise sight)

Answer is listen/hear. I would have thought that see/sight were closer when used as verbs e.g. to sight a ship.

I also really dislike a couple of compound words on Paper 5:

'pigmy' (I know this is correct but it's a bit nasty as I think the more usual spelling is pygmy)

'lunchtime' (Is it definitely one word? My Collins dictionary doesn't have it but I notice the online Oxford dictionary does).

Any opinions gratefully received!!
Cassandra
Manana
Posts: 710
Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2011 3:22 pm

Re: GL Assess Pack 2 - are these bad questions or is it just

Post by Manana »

Cassandra wrote:Hi everyone,

I'm helping a friend's daughter prepare for the 11+ this year and have just bought GL Assessment Pack 2 (this wasn't out when I tutored my own son a couple of years ago).

I'm just going through the papers myself first and have found a couple of questions that I really don't think are very good and am tempted to cross out. I just wondered what everyone else thought of these (apologies if they've been mentioned before and I've missed the thread).

Paper 6 Q12 (Closest in meaning)

(recent latter former)
(yesterday today tomorrow)

Answer is recent/yesterday.

So, this answer will contradict my advice in relation to previous practice papers that the words should be from the same part of speech (eg both nouns or both adjectives)

Paper 6 Q 14 (Closest in meaning)

(see look listen)
(hear noise sight)

Answer is listen/hear. I would have thought that see/sight were closer when used as verbs e.g. to sight a ship.

I also really dislike a couple of compound words on Paper 5:

'pigmy' (I know this is correct but it's a bit nasty as I think the more usual spelling is pygmy)

'lunchtime' (Is it definitely one word? My Collins dictionary doesn't have it but I notice the online Oxford dictionary does).

Any opinions gratefully received!!
I agree completely with pigmy and recent/yesterday. I always think of those 'closest in meaning' ones as being interchangeable, ie I went to the shop yesterday/I went to the shop recent. It doesn't work! I agree with the hear/listen one though-I can hear/I can listen.

I don't really like those GL papers-the second pack. There were some odd questions.
yoyo123
Posts: 8099
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2007 3:32 pm
Location: East Kent

Re: GL Assess Pack 2 - are these bad questions or is it just

Post by yoyo123 »

Lunchtime as one word is quite common, hear /listen OK

but pIgmy is not spelled that way and recent /yesterday is just plain wrong!
Y
Posts: 463
Joined: Mon Mar 12, 2007 12:49 pm

Re: GL Assess Pack 2 - are these bad questions or is it just

Post by Y »

Whilst I also dislike this question, both yesterday and recent can be adjectives:

yesterday (adjective)
5.
belonging or pertaining to the day before or to a time in the immediate past: yesterday morning.

recent (adjective)
1.
of late occurrence, appearance, or origin; lately happening, done, made, etc.: recent events; a recent trip.

A recent morning; yesterday morning.
Manana
Posts: 710
Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2011 3:22 pm

Re: GL Assess Pack 2 - are these bad questions or is it just

Post by Manana »

Y wrote:Whilst I also dislike this question, both yesterday and recent can be adjectives:

yesterday (adjective)
5.
belonging or pertaining to the day before or to a time in the immediate past: yesterday morning.

recent (adjective)
1.
of late occurrence, appearance, or origin; lately happening, done, made, etc.: recent events; a recent trip.

A recent morning; yesterday morning.
But you couldn't say recent morning in the same way that you would yesterday morning?
You couldn't say a yesterday morning in the same way that you would say a recent morning.
Tuyad
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2012 1:17 pm

Re: GL Assess Pack 2 - are these bad questions or is it just

Post by Tuyad »

I completly agree with you!!
hermanmunster
Posts: 12815
Joined: Fri Sep 15, 2006 9:51 am
Location: The Seaside

Re: GL Assess Pack 2 - are these bad questions or is it just

Post by hermanmunster »

Tuyad wrote:I completly agree with you!!
Thank you Tuyad... anything else you would like to add?
ToadMum
Posts: 11944
Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2012 12:41 pm
Location: Essex

Re: GL Assess Pack 2 - are these bad questions or is it just

Post by ToadMum »

Cassandra wrote: Paper 6 Q12 (Closest in meaning)

(recent latter former)
(yesterday today tomorrow)

Answer is recent/yesterday.

So, this answer will contradict my advice in relation to previous practice papers that the words should be from the same part of speech (eg both nouns or both adjectives)

Paper 6 Q 14 (Closest in meaning)

(see look listen)
(hear noise sight)

Answer is listen/hear. I would have thought that see/sight were closer when used as verbs e.g. to sight a ship.both are verbs
For what it's worth, I would just about agree with "recent / yesterday", as both imply "in the near past".

However, for the second question I would have selected "see / hear", both being verbs with a "passive" element (you can see or hear something without really paying it any attention) - as opposed to "look" and "listen", which are deliberate actions but cannot be the answer because the are in the same set.

"sight" I would read as a noun rather than a verb.
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx
Stocky
Posts: 391
Joined: Mon Aug 22, 2011 1:12 pm

Re: GL Assess Pack 2 - are these bad questions or is it just

Post by Stocky »

I definitely would not ever select see/hear in a 'closest in meaning question'. In an 'eyes are to (see, taste, touch) as ears are to (hear, smell, feel) yes. See and hear are not close in meaning. Aside of that, I don't like this question, as I can see why people would pick sight/see or listen/hear. But, listen/hear are both verbs, sight is a noun, see is a verb.
mum23*
Posts: 417
Joined: Tue Mar 02, 2010 1:28 pm

Re: GL Assess Pack 2 - are these bad questions or is it just

Post by mum23* »

All the questions you pointed out are terrible and I would tell a child not to worry if they got them wrong. yesterday and recent - who set that question?! Don't think I have done that set. Bit like the man is to trousers as woman is to skirt one... :roll:
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