Parents evening + 11 plus

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catwoman
Posts: 192
Joined: Mon Jul 08, 2013 3:32 pm

Parents evening + 11 plus

Post by catwoman »

I recently had parents evening at my Ds school in which i was pleasantly surprised with :) Until i arrived at the teacher who has been teaching my Ds some 11+ skills, she showed me the exam paper which was for an hour whch he did terribly in :( However i asked to have a look at the paper (which she was very reluctant to show me) but i insisted :evil: looking at it i was very surprised there was no clozes, no antonyms/synonyms, a section on nvr which he did relatively good on and the rest were codes (lots and lots of codes) She said that it is unlikely he'll pass the 11 plus based on this test. I then questioned this based on his CAT results at the beginning of year 5 which was very good and she was stuck for words. I felt leaving disappointed as the real test in going to short bursts of test rather than 1 full hour of testing, it feels as though they themselves don't know how the structure is going to be on the day and that there not informed enough of the content of the exam as i have been working with my Ds with short bursts of testing.
I believe the best way of testing if my Ds is ready for 11 plus is through the CAT Testing results, what does everyone else think?
Sorry i feel like i needn't to get that all out :!:
kenyancowgirl
Posts: 6738
Joined: Mon Oct 21, 2013 8:59 pm

Re: Parents evening + 11 plus

Post by kenyancowgirl »

What area are you in? What were your son's Sats levels at end of Y2, Y5 and predicted end of Y6? Depending on the are you are in, you can opt in for the 11+ regardless of the teacher and "give it a go". You could do some stuff with him at home to prepare him - not sure if your son is at private or state - I am guessing private as most state schools will not touch 11+ prep with a barge pole! Don't get disheartened as he will feed off this - try and look at it as a constructive way of working out the gaps?
Daogroupie
Posts: 11099
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Herts

Re: Parents evening + 11 plus

Post by Daogroupie »

Having worked inside the Y5 and Y6 classrooms at four different primary schools I can clearly see that it is very difficult for the teacher to keep a handle on the progress of 30 different students. The TA usually knows far more about the individual students and the parent is of course the person who knows most about their student. I did not bring up the subject of applying for selective schools with any of the teachers at our primary. I knew more about it than all of them put together! Every year they are wrong about who is going to get in because they know so little about what is involved. I would continue what you are doing and treat anything that might happen at school as an unlooked for extra. They are clearly not upto scratch with the format required. DG
Amber
Posts: 8058
Joined: Thu Sep 24, 2009 11:59 am

Re: Parents evening + 11 plus

Post by Amber »

Daogroupie wrote: The TA usually knows far more about the individual students
:shock:
pheasantchick
Posts: 2439
Joined: Tue Jun 02, 2009 10:28 pm

Re: Parents evening + 11 plus

Post by pheasantchick »

I don't now what area you are in, but my experience of teachers in Kent is they know almost nothing about the 11+, and some are quite openly opposed to it, despite Kent having a very strong grammar system. Ie. Maidstone alone has two boys and two girls grammar schools.
Tinkers
Posts: 7240
Joined: Mon May 16, 2011 2:05 pm
Location: Reading

Re: Parents evening + 11 plus

Post by Tinkers »

If I'd listened to my DDs year 5 teacher she wouldn't have taken the 11+.

Her year 4 teacher said, after they had done CATS at school that DD was very capable of getting into the GS and it would suit her better than the local comprehensive.

Mentioned to year 5 teacher and he was uncertain about her. Thought she wasn't quite there and ''maybe you should look at some English tuition" , despite the GS we were trying for not testing for English. To fair it's her weakness subject, but the recent Ofsted report slated their English teaching. He also added that in the last those he thought would get in sometimes didn't and those he didn't think would, surprised him. I asked him about DDs year 4 CATS scores and he hadn't seen them.

Out of 8 girls taking the test, 4 got in, including DD, who got the highest mark out of all 8.

Now in year 7 and certainly not struggling, not even in English.
abc72
Posts: 63
Joined: Tue Feb 25, 2014 12:48 am

Re: Parents evening + 11 plus

Post by abc72 »

Please may I ask what is CAT and how can a child take this exam? Is this through school or privately?

Thanks.
abc72
Posts: 63
Joined: Tue Feb 25, 2014 12:48 am

Re: Parents evening + 11 plus

Post by abc72 »

Also wondering - if teachers do not know much about 11+ skills, etc. is it fair to say that many of the GS students to not go into teaching? Is teaching career usually from a comp school? Maybe the teachers out there can shed some light?
silverysea
Posts: 1105
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2011 3:32 pm

Re: Parents evening + 11 plus

Post by silverysea »

CAT is a test some schools use, esp at secondary .

Ignore school with regard to the 11+ and take full responsibility to prepare your DC outside of school, yourself, (whether DIY or tutor ) is my suggestion. School is not tuned in to it enough, if at all, in many areas.
Tinkers
Posts: 7240
Joined: Mon May 16, 2011 2:05 pm
Location: Reading

Re: Parents evening + 11 plus

Post by Tinkers »

CATS, cognitive ability tests.

Some schools do them others don't.

DDs primary did them in year 4, but since they didn't seem to do much with the results as far as DD was concerned, I really don't know why.
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