Differing results between home and school

Eleven Plus (11+) in Kent

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didcot2002
Posts: 31
Joined: Mon Jul 30, 2012 10:26 pm

Differing results between home and school

Post by didcot2002 »

Hi there

I wonder if anyone else has this problem. My daughter is sitting her 11plus in September. Over the last few months she has taken SAT's and CAT's at school in which she had done very well. However when doing tests at home with us or with her tutor she does APPALLINGLY. We don't over do it at home and have only got her to do half a test paper at a time and only once a week but she has never got close to 50% with us or her tutor. We cancelled her tutor sessions as it seemed like a waste of time and money as she hated going and her results were very poor. We have booked her in for mock exams with her tutor and today she did her first - the dreaded Maths paper - and she got 15 out of 50 ... aaargh! She didn't finish the paper and skipped a lot of questions. I wish I could be confident that what her year 5 teacher (who is well thought of) say's - ie she's a very strong pass candidate- is true.

She claims that she tries her hardest and isn't distracted so I don't know what to think.

We've factored in that she may be tired/doesn't take it as seriously as when at school etc, but the vast difference between what school tell us and what we see is very confusing. :?

Does anyone have a similar situation?

Laura
Manana
Posts: 710
Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2011 3:22 pm

Re: Differing results between home and school

Post by Manana »

didcot2002 wrote:Hi there

I wonder if anyone else has this problem. My daughter is sitting her 11plus in September. Over the last few months she has taken SAT's and CAT's at school in which she had done very well. However when doing tests at home with us or with her tutor she does APPALLINGLY. We don't over do it at home and have only got her to do half a test paper at a time and only once a week but she has never got close to 50% with us or her tutor. We cancelled her tutor sessions as it seemed like a waste of time and money as she hated going and her results were very poor. We have booked her in for mock exams with her tutor and today she did her first - the dreaded Maths paper - and she got 15 out of 50 ... aaargh! She didn't finish the paper and skipped a lot of questions. I wish I could be confident that what her year 5 teacher (who is well thought of) say's - ie she's a very strong pass candidate- is true.

She claims that she tries her hardest and isn't distracted so I don't know what to think.

We've factored in that she may be tired/doesn't take it as seriously as when at school etc, but the vast difference between what school tell us and what we see is very confusing. :?

Does anyone have a similar situation?

Laura
SATs and 11+ questions are generally very different though! Which area are you applying for and which subjects will she be tested in for the 11+? VR? Maths? NVR? English?
didcot2002
Posts: 31
Joined: Mon Jul 30, 2012 10:26 pm

Re: Differing results between home and school

Post by didcot2002 »

Hi

We are in East Kent.

My daughter also says that the tests are very different (much more difficult) from the SAT's and CAT's although tutors and teachers have said that SAT's are very similar to our 'Kent Test'. She has been scoring in the top 5% of her very bright class for these tests.

Thanks
didcot2002
Posts: 31
Joined: Mon Jul 30, 2012 10:26 pm

Re: Differing results between home and school

Post by didcot2002 »

Sorry - Verbal, Non Verbal, Maths and then a literacy piece which is only looked at if any of the other scores are low.
Manana
Posts: 710
Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2011 3:22 pm

Re: Differing results between home and school

Post by Manana »

didcot2002 wrote:Sorry - Verbal, Non Verbal, Maths and then a literacy piece which is only looked at if any of the other scores are low.
Sorry-we're in a different area, so the 11+ papers and SATs are very different. Try posting on the Kent board-you might get more help.
hermanmunster
Posts: 12747
Joined: Fri Sep 15, 2006 9:51 am
Location: The Seaside

Re: Differing results between home and school

Post by hermanmunster »

Hi - good idea, I'll move the thread to Kent, hang on tight!
mystery
Posts: 8927
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2009 10:56 pm

Re: Differing results between home and school

Post by mystery »

What has school told you are her current levels in reading, writing and maths? Were these based on work throughout the year, or tests, or both? What were her CAT scores? What were her KS1 results?

When you say she did badly with the tutor in the past and you gave up, what sorts of things was she doing badly on?

What was the mock paper the tutor gave her on which she got 15%? Do you have a copy of the questions and her answers to see where she went wrong?

Sorry about all the questions - but trying to see where the clue to the mystery lies - with the school, the tutor, or your daughter!
didcot2002
Posts: 31
Joined: Mon Jul 30, 2012 10:26 pm

Re: Differing results between home and school

Post by didcot2002 »

mystery wrote:What has school told you are her current levels in reading, writing and maths? Were these based on work throughout the year, or tests, or both? What were her CAT scores? What were her KS1 results?

When you say she did badly with the tutor in the past and you gave up, what sorts of things was she doing badly on?

What was the mock paper the tutor gave her on which she got 15%? Do you have a copy of the questions and her answers to see where she went wrong?

Sorry about all the questions - but trying to see where the clue to the mystery lies - with the school, the tutor, or your daughter!
I can't remember her exact CAT results, we weren't given them just shown them at parent's evening but they were high, her results were among the highest in the class, even in Maths which was gob-smacking. She is in a particularly high acheiving class too. Her KS1 results were high average. We do have the paper where she got 15% - no answer unfortunately. We got her to finish the paper off and she got a further 7 correct so that would still be much lower than 50%.

Thanks for your reply and sorry it's taken me so long to respond, have had a manic few days.
mystery
Posts: 8927
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2009 10:56 pm

Re: Differing results between home and school

Post by mystery »

Oh I'm sorry that's all a bit vague and confusing. I think that unless you have some better info, or some idea on what types of questions she needs to improve on, you might be best just leaving her be now as you haven't really got time between now and September to do very much about it.

Or if you do want to do something maybe you could work gently through some of the GL Assessment practice papers at home - at least then you'll know you looked at the right stuff. It's not clear to me whether the tutor or the mock exams covered the material which is closest to the Kent test - the GL assessment practice papers.

The thing that seems to be most helpful for a short term fix, if needed, is the GL assessment practice papers and their "How to do VR " and "How to do NVR" books.

What you need now maybe is a confidence boost for her and lots of sleep.
dadofkent
Posts: 515
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2008 2:05 pm

Re: Differing results between home and school

Post by dadofkent »

A couple of things to bear in mind. Kent CATs and and also Kent 11plus tests are assessed against a national sample. This is a sample that is not representative of the Kent cohort, because a large proportion of the Kent cohort has been coached and tutored for the 11plus. That is, in general, Kent children will probably score on average much higher in CAT tests than most UK children.

The anecdotal evidence is that a 11plus test score of 50% will just about get you a pass. But do remember that children generally score quite higher in practice tests than they do in the real tests.
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