Does anyone know what the % pass mark is for WGSB?
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Does anyone know what the % pass mark is for WGSB?
I know that this is a tricky one to call, as it gets a little scientific with dates of birth/how well everyone else has done, etc to be factored in. My DS has just completed the first VR test for WGSB, and is reasonably confident he has answered about 70/80 correctly. Could somebody enlighten me (preferably in layman's terms) how scores are calculated, taking into consideration dates of birth, etc. Thanks! 
Re: Does anyone know what the % pass mark is for WGSB?
If only any of us knew !
It's not even about the pass rate it's about how well his year group have done, if he is in the top 20% of his peers that take the exam he should be offered a place.
However there have been some shocking results the last few years where children who were considered in the bottom half of the class at primary (and who have struggled at the grammar school in the years that followed) got in due to low birth rates etc.
I was surprised to hear that 1999/2000 was relatively low.
Did he finish, that seems to be what the tutors are interested.
It's not even about the pass rate it's about how well his year group have done, if he is in the top 20% of his peers that take the exam he should be offered a place.
However there have been some shocking results the last few years where children who were considered in the bottom half of the class at primary (and who have struggled at the grammar school in the years that followed) got in due to low birth rates etc.
I was surprised to hear that 1999/2000 was relatively low.
Did he finish, that seems to be what the tutors are interested.
Re: Does anyone know what the % pass mark is for WGSB?
Hi Key points are:
There is not a pass mark as such. The cutoff is the point which captures the top 30% (or whatever) of those taking the paper (in other words those who reach the Wirral Grammar Schools standard-which is identical for all four non-RC Grammar schools). It is the % that is fixed not the passmark. As all papers are not exactly identically hard the "pass mark" to achieve that % will vary by paper. Having said that tutors etc will have a good idea what required marks would typically be (Not that we used a tutor I can tell you with a true sense of pride!)
The age adjustment is based on the fact that younger people taking the paper tend to score lower marks. Based on historic information their achieved mark will be adjusted by an average differential mark to allow for this. (Not by a huge amount though)
(It is actually much more complicated and if you dig you will find the complete answers on this site somewhere!)
Because Wirral's school population is declining faster than the polar icecap it is highly unlikely that you would need to score higher than the official Grammar school standard cut-off. Having said that there may be a marginal swing towards Wirral Boys this year because of the current turmoil at Calday.
On a side issue because marks are not lost for wrong answers it is always worth putting any answer down than leaving a question out.
There is not a pass mark as such. The cutoff is the point which captures the top 30% (or whatever) of those taking the paper (in other words those who reach the Wirral Grammar Schools standard-which is identical for all four non-RC Grammar schools). It is the % that is fixed not the passmark. As all papers are not exactly identically hard the "pass mark" to achieve that % will vary by paper. Having said that tutors etc will have a good idea what required marks would typically be (Not that we used a tutor I can tell you with a true sense of pride!)
The age adjustment is based on the fact that younger people taking the paper tend to score lower marks. Based on historic information their achieved mark will be adjusted by an average differential mark to allow for this. (Not by a huge amount though)
(It is actually much more complicated and if you dig you will find the complete answers on this site somewhere!)
Because Wirral's school population is declining faster than the polar icecap it is highly unlikely that you would need to score higher than the official Grammar school standard cut-off. Having said that there may be a marginal swing towards Wirral Boys this year because of the current turmoil at Calday.
On a side issue because marks are not lost for wrong answers it is always worth putting any answer down than leaving a question out.