Bucks Press today Local Equal Excellent slams CEM 11+

[Tearing Hair Out Mum]

A link from the article in Bucks Press today
http://www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/news/11 ... r_/?ref=mr" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Lillie]

Just saw this today as well. I know the BFP often gets hold of the wrong end of the stick, but I have read elsewhere the that around 4% fewer Bucks state school children qualified with the new test in 2013 compared to the levels from the last year of the old test. Does anyone know if these figures are correct?

The Bucks grammar school heads cannot refute the data when it does eventually come out. If true, it does indeed show that far from improving access and creating a more level playing field, it is making things worse.

[mystery]

Just saw this today as well. I know the BFP often gets hold of the wrong end of the stick, but I have read elsewhere the that around 4% fewer Bucks state school children qualified with the new test in 2013 compared to the levels from the last year of the old test. Does anyone know if these figures are correct?

The Bucks grammar school heads cannot refute the data when it does eventually come out. If true, it does indeed show that far from improving access and creating a more level playing field, it is making things worse.

I am not sure that the statistics allow one to say there has been a significant change in either direction.

[southbucks3]

Mystery, 4% is a huge dip.

That is a significant swing, previous years the % of bucks children securing places at bucks schools has been reducing by 1-2 % each year. Include this year's predictions and this amounts to 10% over 5 years.

However I am fairly sure the 4% included the many (50%+ from previous year) successful reviews and the very few successful appeals, so on that basis the number of seats secured should not have taken such a dramatic kick as the article suggests. The professional time, money and parental stress of the reviews could have been avoided though.

Plus, just a thought, but are children of more deprived, less academic natured parents, less likely to have requested a review?....it has to come from the parent,so again these kids may lose out.

[Tolstoy]

Plus, just a thought, but are children of more deprived, less academic natured parents, less likely to have requested a review?....it has to come from the parent,so again these kids may lose out.

Possibly and most certainly when it comes to appeal. Also many parents will follow the mantra 'if my DC didn't pass, they are not of academic standard, would struggle in grammar and best to not attempt it '. I know this often was the case in Glos and it was the more savvy parents who went down that route from our area. My own friends whose DC1 missed a grammar by half a point fell for that old chestnut. Ironically once I had enlightened them they didn't make the same mistake with DS2 who failed by a couple of points and got his place without even having to appeal purely because they then knew to still put the school down on the application form. There is a lot of ignorance about the system out there regardless of intelligence or social class.

[Lillie]

What is the likelihood of CEM being asked (by the grammar school heads / Bucks CC) to factor in to the standardisation this quite dramatic drop of 4% pass rate in Bucks state schools last year? Surely this was not the intention of the grammar school heads when the test was changed.

[2Girlsmum]

They are talking about last years exam as opposed to the old VR exam. Personally I'd say that the different subjects tested is is the reason for a drop because CEM is a tougher, broader paper. Children at indie schools are prepared for the 11+ at school and are opt-in,so only those who think that they can pass sit it, and the less academic ones don't, which probably explains the higher pass rate.

[mystery]

You mean change children's results according to whether they went to a state or private school? Unlikely, I would hope!

Maybe instead they should ask for the test to change or the primary school education to be improved if either of these are found to be the cause of this apparent drop in state school success (and I'm still not sure the data proves this yet).

[Tolstoy]

I know in Glos the system of entry changed for two of the schools around the time my DS1 sat it. Previously they had to get a pass in both tests in order to gain entry to the school. Their mantra had been everyone who passed got a place. That year they used an overall combined score system. Many children passed and failed to get places. The pass mark that year was around 220ish previously it had been 105 and above in each paper. By the following year they had fine tuned it and it was 215 on first round allocations and went lower on second, by the following year again I think it was lower again. So there is hope for this years sitters