Page 1 of 2

is it too late??

Posted: Tue Aug 10, 2010 8:21 pm
by Milla
a friend of mine is moving, this week, to Cheltenham, from London. I've promised to offer some help to her daughter, if she wants it but ... is it too late to start from scratch and stand a chance in The Tests??
Plus ... has she missed the cut off for the registeration dates? Could someone in the system this year let me know?
thanks!

Re: is it too late??

Posted: Tue Aug 10, 2010 8:24 pm
by Milla
as an extra to that - given that we all recognise that time ain't exactly on her side, what would be the key things to do in a short time and there's no time to waste in vague extension work?
blitz the compound words?
rattle through Walsh, S Daughtry, Language Lab and Athey?
do some type 19s (if 19 be the inner number between two outers which have a relationship)?
do some type Zs and learn to leave 'em to last?
capitalise on tables / squares / cubes / fibonacci was what I was going to recommend maths-wise?

Re: is it too late??

Posted: Tue Aug 10, 2010 9:27 pm
by EmeraldE
Hi Milla
Not too late to register. The letters come out at the beginning of the new term so your friends daughter should receive one of those soon after she starts Y6 at her new primary school.

I would give her a couple of weeks on learning the types (practicing individual types) and then crack on with the GL Assessment tests, Walsh and Bright Sparks. Learn times tables well and I would think there will not be much time for any more. Bearing in mind she will have to make new friends and settle in, it might be stressful to bombard the poor child with VR wall to wall. However, that little lot should stand her in good stead with such a short time left :D

Good Luck!

Re: is it too late??

Posted: Wed Aug 11, 2010 4:25 pm
by Milla
thanks, EE! I think you're right, she's going to be in for one massive shock. :(

Re: is it too late??

Posted: Wed Aug 11, 2010 7:36 pm
by haeckel
Hi there, I'd personally say it was fine to give it a go at what is not that short notice. If the child is bright enough to get in they will likely get in; it would perhaps not be necessary to do more than run through some practice tests, for the experience, because the child won't need training in types of questions etc., they will be able to reason how to answer the questions.

I'm sure not everyone does loads of training, and it would be a shame if someone felt they could not give the test a go because they had the impression that a long period of training is a prerequisite.

At the same time it is interesting to see what people consider to be useful/necessary training :)

Re: is it too late??

Posted: Wed Aug 11, 2010 8:04 pm
by mitasol
I blame Nfer... :wink:
The effect of sustained coaching over a period of 9 months is shown to be substantial.
http://www.nfer.ac.uk/nfer/research/ass ... aching.cfm

Re: is it too late??

Posted: Wed Aug 11, 2010 10:21 pm
by Tolstoy
Milla, at this point, I would get her to do one of the easier V.R papers, not timed, and then look to see which types she needs help with rather than waste time going through all the types.

Look to see how she is doing in the vocab and if need be then use your tutors technique and bombard her with comprehension and vocab type Q practice. Probably worth trying to go through some of the words on Patricia's vocab lists as well.

Amazing, considering have done this twice, had to google what an earth fibonacci was as it sounds more Italian cookery than maths :lol:

Re: is it too late??

Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2010 6:28 pm
by EmeraldE
I am no expert but I would say that running out of time is the biggest factor in 'bright' kids not doing as well as expected. This is why I suggested a grounding in the basic types first. There is very little time on test day to read each question and then interpret exactly what is required. At the start of the VR process this is what predominantly slows the kids down. Without familiarisation it can lead to unfinished papers on the day, especially if they are having to wade through each question before even starting to answer it. Practice, and not having to read the question word for word, speeds the process considerably as I have noted with my two DSs over the last two years.

I remember back to when I started this VR journey. It took me 75 mins to complete one test! I like to consider myself reasonably articulate :lol: but I found the codes impossible ("What the???"), the maths alright and some of the english subjective. For the kids, speed and accuracy is the key. In my opinion that is best achieved by familiarity, practicing and a solid grounding in the basics of maths and english (which some kids will have already). Definiately not too late!

Interesting Mitasol the research you refer to states
practice effects are greater for tests that have a time-limit compared to those without a time limit
:D

PS..I can now do Walsh in about 35 mins :lol: What a gal!!! lol
Perhaps what is most disturbing is that I actually timed myself...I must remember to get a life!

Re: is it too late??

Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2010 10:14 pm
by moved
Definitely not too late. Make sure she learns the techniques for the time savers. Use the answer sheet to take short cuts for time etc. Do certain questions directly on the answer sheet to save referring back to question paper. All the things you taught DS to do last year. I've had several start in September and we have maths and English to get through as well as VR!

Re: is it too late??

Posted: Fri Aug 13, 2010 1:06 pm
by Milla
thanks everyone!