New CEM 11+. Can reputation push up the figures???

Eleven Plus (11+) in Buckinghamshire (Bucks)

Moderators: Section Moderators, Forum Moderators

Post Reply
SingleDad
Posts: 80
Joined: Thu Mar 10, 2011 5:00 pm

New CEM 11+. Can reputation push up the figures???

Post by SingleDad »

Hi all,

There's been a lot of debate about how “11+ tourism” potentially pushes up the figure needed to pass the 11+. Parking that whole debate to one side, I’ve been wondering if fear factor of the new CEM style exam itself has pushed up the figures. Let me explain.

My eldest daughter sat her 11+ (old style) 2 years ago, most children in her year also sat. Whilst the 11+ was challenging, it wasn't seen as aggressive. My youngest daughter sat the new CEM 11+ last week. I noticed that more parents opted out because they felt their child is unlikely to pass and therefore it wouldn't make sense to sit their child through such an aggressive regime of questions/timings. Has the new CEM 11+ already developed a reputation for being so torturous that many who feel they don't stand a chance avoid it altogether?

If this is the case (and it may not be), then does that push the average pass mark higher?

I have no ideas if there are any figures available on how many have opted out this year and my views above are subjective.
mystery
Posts: 8927
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2009 10:56 pm

Re: New CEM 11+. Can reputation push up the figures???

Post by mystery »

The bucks free press article linked to in another thread says this:

The figures show 948 out of 4,811 of state school pupils passed for 2014 entry, compared to 1,058 out of 4,521 in 2013.

Bucks private school pass rates show 307 out of 438 passed this year compared to 335 out of 474 the year before.

This means that this year 19.7 per cent of Bucks state schools passed the 11+, while 70.1 per cent of private school pupils passed compared to 23.4 per cent and 70.7 per cent respectively last year.


Is the 4811 and 4521 the numbers that sat the test in 2014 and 2013 from state schools? If so, it's hard to draw any firm conclusions as although the pass rate appears to have dropped, it could be because in 2014 the extra children that sat the test were lower ability than the previous year. Unless all children sit the test it's hard to make a comparison.

The data that would be good to have would be when CEM tested the questions on a national sample (or Bucks sample - I don't know how they developed the test) and if they found that compared with the previous GL questions, success in their "newer type (!)" of questions had a lower correlation with socio-economic status etc than the previous types.
justanothermother
Posts: 54
Joined: Mon Mar 24, 2014 10:43 pm

Re: New CEM 11+. Can reputation push up the figures???

Post by justanothermother »

mystery wrote:The bucks free press article linked to in another thread says this:

The figures show 948 out of 4,811 of state school pupils passed for 2014 entry, compared to 1,058 out of 4,521 in 2013.


I wonder if the authors had their article proofread? The 2014 entry would imply that the transfer test has been taken in September 2013, making this sentence meaningless.
As far as I understood the numbers are the results of the tests taken in 2013 (first year of CEM format) and 2012 (before the change to CEM) respectively.
Anyway, is it possible to get such information for 2015 entry so soon after the test? I assumed that it would be kept under the wraps until October, 17th?


@SingleDad I think it's a very valid point. Hopefully someone with an expertise in this area will join the thread soon.
Last edited by justanothermother on Fri Sep 19, 2014 1:48 pm, edited 3 times in total.
SingleDad
Posts: 80
Joined: Thu Mar 10, 2011 5:00 pm

Re: New CEM 11+. Can reputation push up the figures???

Post by SingleDad »

Thanks for the figures. Although I'd be more interested to see opt out (not just pass figures) figures for this year (i.e. 2015 school entry), once they're released, since those might indicate whether or not more people are opting out, possibly basing their decisions on CEM sittings and results in Sep 2013.
Post Reply
11 Plus Mocks - Practise the real exam experience - Book Now