what is a good result [2]

[patricia]

The original thread has gone way off course

In Buckinghamshire your child needs to be scoring approx 86% but this is very much borderline , it varies each year depending on the age distribution of the cohort taking the test. I prefer my children to be gaining at least 90%.

What is the 'going' rate for other areas of the country?

Should any parent need help with the Buckinghamshire test, I am very happy to help. Might be a good idea to post any help under a new topic

[mel]

In responce to your email. Do you mean 86% of the NFER papers a child practises at home as our Deputy Head has advised us parents that our child would need to score 80% of the real thing to pass. Also do you know what achild woudl need to score to pass teh Berkshire test whre they do maths,verbal and non verbal.

[Guest]

My daughter sits her test this Saturday - she can get 93% on Verbal and 91% on Non verbal. I think this is pretty good, but I am not sure if it is good enough, as I am not very experienced in all these matters. She is also very young in her year -18th August. Will they add points on to these scores. If so, how many?

Thank you very much - a brilliant website for an anxious parent

[Guest]

In Warwickshire we are told that the passmark is usually 95-98%.
Last year 1050 pupils sat the exam for 210 places.

[Guest]

I believe Warwickshire does just verbal reasoning and I don't think that it is NFER - I can't remember, but I know that my niece sat the test last year and was able to get 100% on practises at school. However, she could only get 90% on NFER, so may be there is a difference in difficulty?

[Simon B]

Hi Guest,

18th August will make her one of the youngest people sitting the exams.

Scores in excess of 90% that you indicate are a good sign, and yes, if your grammar school practices "standardisation" of scores she will be scaled up significantly being one of the youngest.

I have no doubt your daughter will win a place at her local school if she can repeat her performance.

Best of luck this Saturday.

[Guest]

Simon B

Thank you for your reassurance. It is a big worry. To practise the exam papers we developed a race technique, where she competed against me whilst being timed! We found she was quicker than I am and also can get a much higher score which was very motivating for her. I would recommend this to anyone who is having difficulty getting children to practise as it changes work into a game, which has been great for my little girl. It also shows how easy it is to read the question wrongly, as I often wrote down the wrong numbers or words and, yes, I did pass my 11+, but it was some time ago!

Thank you for your help.

[patricia]

86% is the approx pass mark of the 'real' nfer verbal reasoning test [ in Buckinghamshire ]

Unfortunately I do not know enough about the Berkshire system to quote any figures.

Should you need any help for the Bucks test , please ask anytime.

[Mel]

Dear Patricia

Does that 86% take into consideration a childs age? My son has an August birthday and as such I have been told that he could get 77% and still pass becasue of the standardised scores. On his practsie papers he was scoring 82% so his teacher is confident. What do you think

with thanks Mel

[patricia]

86% is the approx pass mark before standardisation [ in Bucks]- yes your son will receive extra marks for being so 'young' but it is not a set amount - there used to be a myth that you got 1 extra point per month away from your 11th birthday.

Each year that pass mark will change depending on the cohort taking the test that year. I wish I could be more precise and give you an exact figure -however I would still say you need 86% plus to be on the safe side.