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DHSG/PHSG Mock 11+ results concerns

Posted: Fri Jul 24, 2015 12:04 am
by cookie3142
Hi,
I have been hearing rumors that some children that have taken the mock 11+ at DHSG/PHSG had already been through the papers with their tutors and consequently in some cases managed to complete the paper within the first 15mins receiving very high marks in comparison to other years. Does anyone know if therefore the placings have been distorted in respect of the cut off placings for each school?

Re: DHSG/PHSG Mock 11+ results concerns

Posted: Fri Jul 24, 2015 1:35 am
by ToadMum
cookie3142 wrote:Hi,
I have been hearing rumors that some children that have taken the mock 11+ at DHSG/PHSG had already been through the papers with their tutors and consequently in some cases managed to complete the paper within the first 15mins receiving very high marks in comparison to other years. Does anyone know if therefore the placings have been distorted in respect of the cut off placings for each school?
If it's a mock exam,how can it have any influence on placings? Does it really matter that some children have already gone over a paper taken as a mock, except where such a child gets a poor score you can assume that they won't do terribly well in the real thing (which hopefully they won't have seen before)? Or have I totally misunderstood something here?

Re: DHSG/PHSG Mock 11+ results concerns

Posted: Fri Jul 24, 2015 3:25 am
by equilibro
Other than superficially, I'm not au fait with the Plymouth system but is the "mock 11+" plus that you are talking about the equivalent of the pre-11+ familiarisation tests that the Torbay GS make available, as variously do many other GS around the country? If so, then this "mock" is simply a "taster" and the marks obtained in it should have no effect whatsoever on such things as "cut off" for the actual 11+ exams themselves. I imagine that the actual cut-off on the day(s) will be derived from the actual marks obtained by the candidates in totality.

As a matter of interest, is Plymouth GL Assessment or has it switched to CEM as Torbay has?

Re: DHSG/PHSG Mock 11+ results concernsV

Posted: Fri Jul 24, 2015 6:53 am
by Tolstoy
I had a quick look on one of the sites and it appears they offer a practice test at the beginning of July.

If some DC had been given the paper previously by a tutor then they could have an effect on the results for the practice test. In Bucks the mocks aren't marked so it doesn't really matter how well the DC perform in them. If they are marked and the results given out then just remember that for the actual test those who didn't have pre-knowledge of the exam will perform better than those that did.


Personally if I was paying a tutor to prepare my DC for an exam and the tutor knew I would be using a mock test day I would be very aggrieved if they then knowingly gave DC the paper that would be used on that particular day. The whole point of a mock is to prepare DC for the actual test. It is very doubtful that DC will finish the test quickly on the day and being faced with something much harder that they haven't encountered previously could panic some of those DC and have an adverse effect on their performance.

So OP if your DC wasn't one of the 15 minute finishers I would be rather glad.

Re: DHSG/PHSG Mock 11+ results concerns

Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2015 1:00 pm
by twinmum2001
I can confirm that 3 girls in my daughter's class had indeed seen both the Math's and the English multiple choice papers only the week or two before.

It seems that one of the Tutors (I won't name) had access to the papers from 2012 and used them as practise for her tutoring groups.

DHSG were informed about this issue as were other tutors as word spread.

They said they would look into it.

I look at it that it was only a mock and it doesn't matter about anyone else untimately- just possibly skews a few of the girls' results making ranking unreliable. I see it more about what it highlighted about my own daughter, and what her strengths and weaknesses are.

Roll on the 27th September and then 31st October where any choices and decisions will have been made!

Good luck!!