Hi


New to forum and just a few months so far in Kent! Ds going to take Kent Test in Sept 2018 and have just had his report. There's a disparity between VR/ NVR scores and CAT VR/ NVR scores that I don't understand and wondered if someone could explain to me and I wondered generally with his other marks, whether this was enough to pass the 11+ here?

Reading 129
Spelling 120

Age at test 9.6
Reading Age 16.1
Spelling 12

VR 118
NVR 127

Then CATS tests taken only a day later
CAT VR 141
CAT NVR 133
CAT Quantitative 115
CAT Spatial 113
CAT mean 126

Maths score was 85%, with 90% in arithemtic and his worded questions included bringing the mark down to 85%

All these figures seem SO different to each other I've no idea what to make of them. Any interpretation/ analysis would be really welcome!! Thank you.

There are three different batteries of tests there, and to some extent, your DS just "warmed up" as things went along!

His verbal skills are clearly first-rate: 141 in a CAT test is the maximum, and his reading age is probably at the maximum for that test battery.

His quantitative CAT score is rather weaker, at 115, although still well above the national average of 100.

The spatial score of 113 is similar, although I've rarely seen a child with a decent spatial score since they were introduced. The moral of the story there is "Do not set him loose in open countryside with a map!" Otherwise I am not convinced about the value of the spatial score in assessing anything very much academically. (Disagreements on a postcard, please. )

The mean CAT score without the spatial score is therefore almost 130, and that is very much within the zone for success in the 11+, whether it be in a non-super-selective area such as Kent, or in more competitive areas.

You should focus on improving maths, because that will be the weakest link.

Thanks Sallyanne! Is Quantitative equivalent to maths then?

Are CATS a better indicator of kent test pass rate than the other VR/ NVR tests they gave them. Why on earth did they give them two lots?!

It is indeed.


I can't really comment on the Kent test specifically, but here in Bucks, CATs are frequently a good indicator of the likely 11+ outcome.


It could be that they wanted to compare the two sets of data for some reason - possibly they are thinking of moving from the more basic VR/NVR tests (which I think were probably GL Assessment tests) to CATs (NFER, although essentially one and the same company). Beyond that, I have no idea!

Hi Gin70,
Please may I ask you more about the assessment? Who conducted it? When is it done?

my DD is in Y5 and nothing of this kind has been done so far in school

Is your DD in a Kent primary school? Perhaps it's a Kent (and Bucks) thing? State primary schools here (Southend) don't do CATS, either, although some of the secondary schools administer them at the beginning of year 7, I think.

_________________
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx

CATs are done in school - some schools do them and some don't. They cost money and there are differing views on their reliability.

Remember any test score is only reliable to a given confidence interval so the 'truth' probably lies in between these scores.

We are not in a Kent primary. We are in Beckenham (Bromley)

We didn't get any such information, but there was a period in year five when it seemed they were having constant assessments and tests. It could be they do them and just don't tell you, which is probably best to avoid stress and parental competitiveness.

Our school (in Bromley) used to give them to everyone in Year 4 and Year 5, apparently because parents wanted to know if their children were likely to have a chance at grammar or if it wasn't fair to put them through all the prep. I'm told they've stopped as of this year though. I suppose it a) costs money and b) is a bit rough on the children in the lowest deciles being told so in such stark terms.