Finishing test papers
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boneyday44
Finishing test papers
We have just received our sons results for his 11 plus exam taken in trafford manchester.
Although we had a good idea he would not quite achieve the necessary pass score, he scored quite low in his best subject - maths- I am sure this is because he did not finish the test paper.
Is there any way that we can find out if he indeed did not complete any of the papers.
We have seen children who are quite studious when answering questions, it seems to be a great advantage to be quick in thought or just tick boxes if not quite sure, just to complete the papers?
Any thoughts out there please.
Although we had a good idea he would not quite achieve the necessary pass score, he scored quite low in his best subject - maths- I am sure this is because he did not finish the test paper.
Is there any way that we can find out if he indeed did not complete any of the papers.
We have seen children who are quite studious when answering questions, it seems to be a great advantage to be quick in thought or just tick boxes if not quite sure, just to complete the papers?
Any thoughts out there please.
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jah
I told my daughter not to worry too much if she didn't finish her paper, so long as she was sure that most of what she had done was right. If it were easy for people to finish, then the schools would not be able to separate out the candidates. After all they are looking for people over the 70%tile (though I may have misremembered that) not necessarily just the top 5%.
However, one of my daughter's schoolfriends had been primed to guess the answers to the last few questions if she were running out of time. So I suppose she has probably got a couple of extra marks by doing this. I don't think that it is necessarily a good strategy though. Better to be sure that what you've done is right; otherwise at what point do you decide to start guessing? 5 minutes from the end, 1 minute from the end....
However, one of my daughter's schoolfriends had been primed to guess the answers to the last few questions if she were running out of time. So I suppose she has probably got a couple of extra marks by doing this. I don't think that it is necessarily a good strategy though. Better to be sure that what you've done is right; otherwise at what point do you decide to start guessing? 5 minutes from the end, 1 minute from the end....
Dear BoneyDay44
Can your son remember finishing the papers? He will be the best one to ask - I doubt anyone else will give you the answer.
Re exam technique about finishing - yes, at the end, a lot of children (with multiple choice) will guess. If you have a minute left, and they have 6/7 questions left, they are to go down the answer sheet and mark all answer "a" (for example) - might give them an extra point and what is there to lose? I am totally "DIY" over here and only have this Forum to thank if my son passes his 11+ and I will know next week. Timing is so important and those exams are written so that children are meant to have little time left at the end, but also not to finish too early.
I am so sorry to hear your child did not quite make it, but do consider appealing, especially if your primary school is behind you - and you have this forum too, which is a minefield of information - you just need to have the time to plugh thru it! Good luck! USA
Can your son remember finishing the papers? He will be the best one to ask - I doubt anyone else will give you the answer.
Re exam technique about finishing - yes, at the end, a lot of children (with multiple choice) will guess. If you have a minute left, and they have 6/7 questions left, they are to go down the answer sheet and mark all answer "a" (for example) - might give them an extra point and what is there to lose? I am totally "DIY" over here and only have this Forum to thank if my son passes his 11+ and I will know next week. Timing is so important and those exams are written so that children are meant to have little time left at the end, but also not to finish too early.
I am so sorry to hear your child did not quite make it, but do consider appealing, especially if your primary school is behind you - and you have this forum too, which is a minefield of information - you just need to have the time to plugh thru it! Good luck! USA
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Guest
my daughter came out of the trafford 11+ saying that she started to get very stressed and anxious during the first paper and ended up guessing the last two sections. I told her not to worry, although i must admit it did concern me. we got our results on saturday and we are pleased to say that she passed.. our neighbour said her daughter told her that she hadn't finished any of the three papers but she also passed. so i agree that it is best to make sure the answers you have done are right and not try to complete the papers and risk getting answers wrong by rushing through them
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Dorset Parent
- Posts: 37
- Joined: Tue Oct 03, 2006 10:11 pm
- Location: Bournemouth
Thanks for the last post as I have been helping my daughter prepare for the tests on my own, and she doesn't finish maths or VR papers. Your comments are re-assuring. My daughter takes her tests on Sat and the only paper she can finish in time is English (but that's not to say that she finds that paper easy!)