Official test announcement

Eleven Plus (11+) in Buckinghamshire (Bucks)

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Lillie
Posts: 231
Joined: Tue Jan 25, 2011 2:34 pm

Re: Official test announcement

Post by Lillie »

I have been somewhat reassured following our HT's recent presentation regarding the changes to the test. The HT was well aware that CEM had in the past only worked with more self-selecting groups of children for other regions where they conduct 11 plus testing (i.e. "opt in" areas).

Hopefully the scheduled trial of the current Year 6 children for the new style exam which will take place later this term will iron out any incongruities and their testing will need to be adapted to meeting the needs of a much wider ability range cohort. Whist it will be a very challenging test, the council does state (and the HT also did state) that it would only cover areas which have already been studied in the Year 5 curriculum. Let's see.....
drummer
Posts: 529
Joined: Thu Mar 08, 2007 5:47 pm
Location: South Bucks

Re: Official test announcement

Post by drummer »

I have been wondering:

If tales are true and the test IS much more difficult it may be that it is much more stressful for the middle and lower ability children. This in turn may lead to a much higher number of opt-outs than we have now (to understandably save children from unnecessary stress).

Would this scenario make it even harder for Bucks children to qualify as the cohort becomes more self-selecting?
crecheout
Posts: 51
Joined: Sun Sep 19, 2010 4:48 pm

Re: Official test announcement

Post by crecheout »

Hello all. I notice that the list of frequently asked questions was updated on 7th February. I have tried to get in to the website using links and going in the slow way via BCC website but it does not seem to want to display. has anyone else had this problem? And if anyone has managed to get in could you please tell me what else was covered over and above the 30 odd that were there before?
Many thanks as ever
Sally-Anne
Posts: 9235
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 8:10 pm
Location: Buckinghamshire

Re: Official test announcement

Post by Sally-Anne »

The link is definitely broken.

Perhaps someone has a copy of the document - if the link ever worked following the recent update, that is?
Okanagan
Posts: 1706
Joined: Mon Aug 22, 2011 9:20 pm
Location: Warwickshire

Re: Official test announcement

Post by Okanagan »

There looks to be a new (7 February 2013) document linked from here. I can't open the document though - showing as invalid type - but I've extracted the information as far as I can:

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE NEW 11+ TESTS

1 Why do there have to be tests?

Buckinghamshire is a selective authority for secondary school admissions and the Department for Education (DfE) determined that the grammar schools should retain their selective status when they became academies. As a result there has to be an objective and independent way of determining which children are admitted to the grammar schools in the County. Externally set tests are therefore a way of ensuring that the admissions system is as fair as possible for all pupils.

2 How many tests will there be?
There will be two tests, both of which will be divided into three separately-timed sections covering the three types of question: verbal, numerical and non-verbal. In some ways this can be seen as one test taken in two parts. This basic structure will be the same each year, although of course new tests will be developed for each year.

3 How long will each test take?
Each test will take about 45-50 minutes so that it can be taken within a normal lesson time.

4 Why are these tests different from the current tests?
There has been a great deal of research internationally and for many decades about the nature of children’s abilities and how best to measure them. The new tests reflect modern research into the nature of ability and the quite widely-held view that people have multiple abilities. It is therefore appropriate to test pupils’ ability to think in a range of different contexts.

5 What do the tests assess?
The tests are tests of ability: they assess verbal ability, numerical ability and non-verbal ability. This enables children to demonstrate their abilities in a range of contexts and not just verbally as with the current tests.

6 Who is providing the tests?
The test provider was selected after a full tendering process undertaken by the grammar schools. The successful tenderer is CEM: The Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring at Durham University. CEM has a long and successful track record of developing tests for use in selection (for both independent and state schools) and for monitoring and analysing pupil progress (mainly in secondary schools).

7 When will the tests be taken?
The tests will be taken in September. The designated test date is 12 September. This timetable is necessary to comply with the requirement of the government that pupils should know the outcomes of selective assessments before finalising their secondary school preferences at the end of October.

8 Will the tests be on separate days?
Both tests will be taken on the same day with a gap of time between them of about 30-40 minutes. A number of administrative details about timing on the test date have not yet been finalised. CEM’s advice and experience is that this is both feasible within a primary school timetable and desirable in terms of reducing the stress on the children. They will, after all, be taking more than one SAT test on the same day towards the end of Year 6.

9 How will the tests be marked?
The tests will be machine-marked. The tests will be in a multiple-choice format and the pupils will complete machine-readable answer sheets.

What allowances will be made for pupils with special needs?
Details of these allowances have still to be agreed with County officers but, for example, there will be the opportunity for pupils to be given up to 25% extra time, which is a standard allowance for some pupils with special needs, and large print versions will be available.

What will the qualifying or pass mark be?
The 11+ tests do not have a pass mark. There is a qualifying score for admission to grammar school and that will remain at an age-standardised score of 121. Each pupil will have a single standardised score arrived at by aggregating their performance across all six sections of the two tests. (NB: a pupil’s score will not be an average of their scores on the tests, it will be a total.)

10 Will pupils be able to practise for the tests?
Yes. First, they will be given a leaflet familiarising them with the testing procedure, giving them some test-taking advice and giving them a few example questions. They will be able to take this home. Then, before taking the tests – on 10 September - the pupils will be given two preparation papers each lasting about 25-30 minutes containing test items that mirror what they will find in the full tests. The purpose of this exercise is to give the pupils experience of test-taking conditions as well as giving them the opportunity to work through example test material. The preparation papers will not be marked or taken away from the school. It is not the purpose of the preparation tests to see how many questions they get right but to help them to prepare themselves for the tests.

11 Why can’t parents see the preparation papers?
CEM does not publish any practice books of its types of tests and it wants circulation of test materials to be kept to a minimum so as to maintain the integrity and fairness of its tests.

12 How can parents best help their children to prepare for the tests?
There are a number of things that parents can do to help their children. They can ensure that they have experience of working quietly on their own, uninterrupted by noise or distractions. They can ensure that they do any homework that is set. They can help their children to read with understanding, for example by asking them what certain words mean and what is happening in the passage or book that they are reading. They can encourage them to solve problems by themselves or to look up things for themselves.

13 How do you know these new tests are going to work?
It is normal practice in developing tests of this sort to trial material thoroughly. Preliminary trials have been conducted by CEM in a range of schools outside Buckinghamshire and with pupils of the appropriate age. As part of this development process, one set of trials this year will be held in Buckinghamshire to ensure that the new tests are effective and of the appropriate standard. About 1000 pupils in Year 6 will take part in this trial later in the Spring term. Because these pupils have already taken an 11+ test, this will give us a very good picture of the effectiveness of the new tests. The tests taken next September will of course comprise entirely new material.

14 Will primary schools be measured by their 11+ results?
No. All schools aim to give their pupils a thorough grounding in key skills and a broad introduction to areas of knowledge so that they are properly prepared for their later education whichever type of school they go to. Primary schools (like all schools) are measured by the quality of their teaching and learning.

15 Must pupils achieve the qualifying score of 121 in both tests or just one?
A pupil’s scores on all six sections of the two tests will be added together and that total score will then be age-standardised. This will give an overall view of the pupil’s abilities.

16 Will fewer children achieve the 121 score if both tests are added together and then standardised?
No. A similar percentage of pupils as now will achieve the qualifying score. This is because the standardisation is carried out each year on the population actually taking the tests.

17 Is any information available about the range of scores achieved by pupils in recent years?
Information about previous years’ tests is not available from the grammar schools. The current process produces standardised scores of between 69 and 141 with a mean of approximately 110. In 2013 about 32.9% achieved the qualifying mark of 121. A chart can be provided on request by the County Council’s Admissions and Transport Team.

18 Will the verbal, numerical and non-verbal elements of the tests be equally weighted?
The exact weighting of the three elements will be decided after thorough trialling.

19 Are practice papers published in the new format? If not, when will they be released?
No. A familiarisation sheet will be given to pupils to share with their parents and the pupils will take two preparation papers in school. Neither the grammar schools nor the local authority nor the test provider will publish any practice papers.

20 Why will both tests be taken on the same day?
In part this is because of the reduced amount of time in which the testing, marking and delivery of results has to take place. In part it is because CEM’s advice is that pupils’ levels of stress and anxiety are reduced if the testing is not spread out over several days. This advice is based on their many years of experience of working with pupils of this age and of developing and administering tests of this kind for a variety of schools.

21 Why do the tests have to be taken so early in September? Won’t this disadvantage some pupils?
As indicated in the response to Q7, the overall timetable is driven by the need to send out pupils’ results by 31 October. Currently results are sent out by the end of November so a full month has to be taken out of the timetable. This is a matter that head teachers (both primary and secondary) have thought about very carefully and have concluded that the alternative of testing just before the summer holiday is less attractive and more unfair on pupils than early September.

22 Why introduce the new tests in such a rush this year? Why not wait until 2014?
There are two factors here. First, the Secretary of State for Education has instructed that selection results have to be available to parents by 31 October. This should have happened in 2012 but the grammar schools were given a dispensation for one year. It must therefore happen in 2013. It was then agreed that the two changes (to the timetable and to the tests) should be introduced at the same time rather than spread the changes, and therefore the uncertainty, over two years.

23 When do pupils need to register to take the tests?
The detailed timetable for the admission of pupils to secondary schools in the County will be published in the Summer term. No action need be taken by parents before that.

24 Are pupils in Buckinghamshire primary schools automatically entered for the tests even if their home address is outside the County boundary?
Yes, unless parents notify their child’s head teacher that they do not wish their child to take the tests.

25 Why do you think that the new arrangements will reduce the impact of coaching?
In general, it is more difficult to coach non-verbal questions than verbal questions. CEM advise that some of their verbal question types are more difficult to coach than others that are commonly used in verbal reasoning tests. CEM also advise that good preparation for the tests is to develop a child’s ability to read with understanding and to solve problems using their numerical skills: this is what primary schools are doing with all their pupils.

26 What will the grammar schools do to eradicate the unfair practice whereby independent schools prepare their pupils thoroughly for the tests and the state schools do not?
The changes are designed to reduce any impact – either perceived or real – of ‘coaching’ wherever it takes place. The County Council has strict rules governing the conduct of any school that is a test centre. This includes ‘partner schools’ (which includes most Buckinghamshire independent schools). Contrary to popular belief in some circles, these rules are strictly enforced. For example, the Council threatened to withdraw ‘partner school’ status from one school which was found to be running a ‘VR Club’. However, neither the Council nor the grammar schools can realistically have any influence over practice in schools which are not ‘partner schools’.

27 Why not administer the tests at the end of Year 5?This has been considered but primary head teachers have advised that it would be unfair on pupils to ask them to sit tests at the end of a long term and at the end of a school year.

28 Won’t taking the tests so early in Year 6 disadvantage some pupils because they will not yet have learned things on which they may be tested?
No. There will be nothing in the tests that goes beyond what pupils will have covered in Year 5.

29 What is the consultation that is referred to in some correspondence?
The consultations that are currently taking place are being undertaken by all the grammar schools. They are required by law to consult other admission authorities and relevant parents on their admissions policies. These consultations last until 1 March and, again, the period and method of consultation is that required by the Admissions Code. At the end of the consultation period, each grammar school governing body will consider the responses received and then determine its Admissions Policy by the deadline of 15 April as set out in the Admissions Code.

30 Is the timing of both tests on the same day in order to reduce the cost of the operation?
No. The timing has nothing to do with cost.

31 The statistics for entry into grammar schools in Buckinghamshire show that independent school pupils stand a better chance of gaining a place than state school pupils.
The percentage of independent school pupils gaining grammar school places is indeed higher than the percentage of state school places. This is partly because the independent school cohort is self-selecting: these pupils have to register to take the tests whereas all pupils in Buckinghamshire state schools are registered unless their parents withdraw them. In addition, many independent schools are themselves academically selective on entry and therefore it should not be particularly surprising if a higher percentage of their pupils achieve the qualifying mark.

32 How will you prevent leaks of information about the tests?
A number of steps are being taken. CEM will not publish any practice material for purchase by parents. The preparation tests will not be sent home and will be collected and destroyed. The real test materials will, as with other psychometric tests, remain confidential.

33 How will you ensure that that everything runs smoothly and that this year’s cohort is not just guinea pigs?
As many aspects as possible of the testing process are being thoroughly trialled during this school year. The results of that trialling will be evaluated in the summer term prior to confirming details with the supplier.

34 When will final decisions be taken about the testing process?
It is expected that final decisions will be confirmed during the summer term.

35 How will the tests be administered?
The cohort of pupils taking the tests will be supervised by a teacher. Each pupil will have a question booklet and a separate answer sheet. The question booklet will contain all the necessary instructions about taking the test and all the test questions. The teacher will use a CD to play the instructions about starting and finishing the test and to time all the sub-sections of the test. The same procedure will be followed with the preparation tests.

36 What will happen if a child is ill or very distressed on the day of the tests or during a test?
As in previous years, schools will be given clear instructions about how to deal with such circumstances. If pupils are unable to take the tests, they will be able to do so on a later occasion.

37 What happens if most pupils pass?
This will not happen. Approximately the same proportion of pupils will qualify as qualify currently.

38 Are these changes related to changes in catchment areas?
No. The decision about the test supplier and the types of tests has nothing to do with school catchment areas.

39 Is a pupil’s score on the Buckinghamshire tests transferable to another authority?
No.

40 Will the appeal process remain the same?
It is the intention that both the Review Process and the Appeal Process will remain the same.

41 When will results be available?
The results will be communicated to parents before final decisions have to be made about secondary school preferences, i.e. before 31 October. The exact date will be published in due course.

42 Will dates of school open evenings be changing to fit in with this new timetable?
Dates of Open Evenings are set by individual schools and are not centrally determined. However all the grammar schools will hold open days before the deadline for completing secondary school preferences.

43 Will all test questions be equally rated and all sections be equally weighted?
All test questions will be equally rated (i.e. every correct answer will gain one raw score point). The sections will not be equally weighted. The weighting will be decided after the trial in March.

44 Why is there no science or English writing in the tests?
It is important to distinguish between tests of attainment, which assess a pupil’s grasp of particular curriculum content, and tests of ability, which assess a pupil’s use of thought processes and their grasp of concepts. The 11+ tests are tests of ability. Science and English writing would more naturally be found in tests of attainment. It is also important that a pupils’ results in the 11+ tests are not entirely conditioned by their grasp of the primary curriculum: this is the role of the SATs taken at the end of Year 6.
crecheout
Posts: 51
Joined: Sun Sep 19, 2010 4:48 pm

Re: Official test announcement

Post by crecheout »

Thank you Okanagan, much appreciated. My DS school is not having parents information evening until tomorrow and I just wanted to check I was not asking questions that had already been answered. I was pleased to see that many of the questions I asked in the consultation period have been answered (to a point). Not sure I am much wiser but I feel better to have asked the questions!
Booklady
Posts: 522
Joined: Mon May 19, 2008 10:39 pm

Re: Official test announcement

Post by Booklady »

One obvious question which maybe some of our home educators have asked: they state the practice papers will not be sent home, so what about children educated at home? Will they have to go into their local school to take the practice tests?
Just curious!!? :)
scary mum
Posts: 8841
Joined: Mon Mar 15, 2010 3:45 pm

Re: Official test announcement

Post by scary mum »

Booklady wrote:One obvious question which maybe some of our home educators have asked: they state the practice papers will not be sent home, so what about children educated at home? Will they have to go into their local school to take the practice tests?
Just curious!!? :)
And out of county children who are not at partner schools...
scary mum
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