11 Plus Exams Forum

We are just starting to think about tutoring our child (who is currently year 4) starting this Autumn. I know each grammar school has a pass mark that they set each year but what does that mean in %? For example we understand that Pâtés is the most difficult to get a place but what % should the child be achieving in the practise tests to achieve a place there. Similarly with the other grammars? Marling, Crypt and Tommys...? Maybe I am missing something glaringly obvious here but if someone could help... Thanks a lot!

Hi there, the easiest and most simple way to put it is that there isn't any set percentage, because the 11+ isn't marked in that way. Papers are marked relative to the cohort taking the test.. Also you will find that all different brands of test paper are not comparable... Walsh are generally considered to be harder than GL, and DS1 always scored better in GL.. However DD always did better at Walsh. Also you have to take into account age standardisation.

From my experience though consistently above 85% should get you a decent pass..

I am not sure the test will still be the same format as it is now - I think there is talk of the test changing to the CEM Durham test after October 2013 which will be very different to the 21 types NFER test.
Sorry if you are talking about doing the test this october you'll be ok with VR!

With regard to the more challenging practice papers, 70% is a good benchmark.

DC17C wrote:I am not sure the test will still be the same format as it is now - I think there is talk of the test changing to the CEM Durham test after October 2013 which will be very different to the 21 types NFER test.
Sorry if you are talking about doing the test this october you'll be ok with VR!

Had missed Op mentioned year 4.... DC17c's post is spot on.

Hi tiomanisland,
Both my kids attended the same tutor sessions in the last few years. DS1 got in to Marling , he was scoring roughly 80% near the exam time, kids from his tutor group got into Marling with min score about 72-75% roughly. My DD1 got into Pâtés this year, she was scoring consistently 90-92% near exam time. Other kids in her tutor group were scoring just under 90%, but that was not enough for pâtés.
As other posters mentioned, exam maybe changing soon, but this is just to tell you what our view is as an example. Good luck

I agree with qip001 - my DC got into Pates 120. I believe that your child nees to be getting 90% plus in tests at home to get into Pates. No more than 8-12 questions wrong out of two papers totalling 165. I think that on the test day your child could score less and still get into Pates on the basis of the test being harder, exam nerves etc... It all depends on cohort. I also think that exam technique is key - if children focus on the questions they can answer and go back to the difficult ones at the end, then they will have had the best chance to answer as many questions as possible correctly. Rather than wasting time trying to answer the difficult questions and running out of time at the end. I know children who missed 15 questions because they ran out of time. This could have made a huge difference in rankings.

If they move the CEM then this exam technique will become less important because each section is strictly timed and the children cannot go back. There will be no opportunity to identify weaker areas and leave these to last.

My DCs tutor always said 90% plus for Pates, 85% plus for STRS/HSFG and higher 70s/low 80s for Crypt/Ribston.

Also there is a factor which month your child was born?

Hi - my DC is one of the older children in the year and therefore would have had less of an increase in the score through standardisation. No one knows the difference that it makes to the final scores from September through to August borns - but I should not imagine more than 6 marks - although that could make the difference. If it was such a big difference then Pates would be full of summer born children and that is not the case. It would be interesting to know if anyone has more of an idea on this and whether it differs year on year. I think it's pretty fair as August borns have had less time to learn than September born children.

Vio125 - I'd agree with your tutor. Although there are small differences in the standardised score for gender and birth date, and the schools go down the waiting lists each year to varying degrees based on factors such as the state of the economy, you would need to be scoring in the 90%+ range for Pates to feel comfortable for that school. Ditto for the other GS choices.