Over coaching for Maths tests?

[Cranleigh]

Speaking to admissions re: selective schools so many are telling me about the dangers of 'over coaching' particularly for Maths. They say they get children in that have to keep dropping down through Maths sets rather than moving up (which is natural order of things).

My question is how can you over prepare a child for a Maths exam?

If they can independently apply knowledge to unseen questions & do very well is this not a demonstration of worthy ability?

[yoyo123]

I would have thought so.

[Reading Mum]

they can't all move up through the sets or there would be no one at the bottom

[Kingfisher]

I think the point is that the children become very good at tackling certain types of questions but then come across more problem solving types and more a advanced level of Maths and then CANNOT think independently and struggle to cope. The pace in the top sets is too fast and the work too advanced hence the fact that they have to move down a set.

[mystery]

These schools are indirectly telling you that you can do very well in their entrance test with the right coaching. Additionally they are indicating that they base their sets on entrance test results. Hopefully they are also indicating that some children move up. So it sounds as though things sort themselves out and that the setting is more flexible long term than at some primaries