SuttonPTA mocks are not matching SET 2021 pattern?

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SummersLazy
Posts: 65
Joined: Tue Mar 26, 2013 8:53 am

SuttonPTA mocks are not matching SET 2021 pattern?

Post by SummersLazy »

SuttonPTA mocks are not reflecting the 2021 new pattern Sutton SETs. Anyone noticed it?
zilin1712
Posts: 37
Joined: Fri Aug 03, 2018 10:19 pm

Re: SuttonPTA mocks are not matching SET 2021 pattern?

Post by zilin1712 »

Hi,
My daughter sat the mocks over the weekend.
May I know which part was not reflected?
Appreciate it!
SummersLazy
Posts: 65
Joined: Tue Mar 26, 2013 8:53 am

Re: SuttonPTA mocks are not matching SET 2021 pattern?

Post by SummersLazy »

There is a familiarisation document on the Sutton website.
5 mins spelling
25 mins comprehension T1
10 mins comprehension T2
10 mins to compare T1 & T2
Our tutor's mock is based on this familiarisation document from the school's website. But one would assume the school PTA would have inside information and match their familiarisation paper.
zilin1712
Posts: 37
Joined: Fri Aug 03, 2018 10:19 pm

Re: SuttonPTA mocks are not matching SET 2021 pattern?

Post by zilin1712 »

Yes good point.
I don’t believe the paper had this exact format.
SummersLazy
Posts: 65
Joined: Tue Mar 26, 2013 8:53 am

Re: SuttonPTA mocks are not matching SET 2021 pattern?

Post by SummersLazy »

I wrote it in a hurry...
* at least match their familiarisation paper.
It's just appalling.
PettswoodFiona
Posts: 2134
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2014 11:24 pm
Location: Petts Wood, Bromley, Kent

Re: SuttonPTA mocks are not matching SET 2021 pattern?

Post by PettswoodFiona »

Bear in mind most PTA mocks are run by volunteers and agree it is ideal to reflect some of the test as much as possible, the opportunity to experience exam conditions, try a similar (if not exact) test etc are still useful experiences. They may have had papers from a previous year they couldn’t use and investment in another lot just wouldn’t have made it viable, there are lots of other possible reasons.

I know at my daughter’s school the pressure on the PTA by frantic parents just wasn’t worth the hassle so the mock tests folded. I wasn’t on the organsing committee but I did have friends who volunteered on the day of tests. Their overarching memory is that not one parent said thank you. Sometimes you need to think if you want some sort of mock or none. Commercial providers the bar is of course at a different level.
timeflies
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon Dec 18, 2017 9:39 pm

Re: SuttonPTA mocks are not matching SET 2021 pattern?

Post by timeflies »

Remember, the 2021 format change was announced by the schools in July 2021, just two months before the September 2021 real entrance tests. So although we may know the format of the English paper and recommended section timings, we do not know what content will be tested within these sections. All we have to go on is hearsay from the children that sat last year’s SET.

FYI, my friend’s daughter sat the SGS PTA mock tests last weekend and was happy that spelling, comprehension and comparison of texts were all included, as well as questions requiring more than one answer to be selected. She felt it did not matter that the exact format was not followed . Overall, she was really happy with the test experience, exposing her daughter to a test with over 150 children sitting in an unfamiliar environment.
BabaPabz
Posts: 50
Joined: Wed Sep 18, 2019 2:57 pm

Re: SuttonPTA mocks are not matching SET 2021 pattern?

Post by BabaPabz »

I sympathised with the first cohort to navigate the changed format last year without much information. But the info is out there now and most exam papers services have updated the papers they are marketing.

While understandable, the aim for most parent putting there kids up for this test is to have a test experience, I still believe the relevance of the content is a part of that. I think the PTA running the test have an obligation to at least inform the parents beforehand that the test does not reflect the new format of the SET. Afterall it is meant to be a familiarisation test for the SET and it’s the main selling point.

I also understand that the member of the PTA are volunteers working hard to raise fund for the school, but the PTA is offering a service to the public and I believe they have a duty to ensure or at least inform if any parameter of the exam differs significantly to the real thing. The changes to the SET English is drastic and will make a difference to those who are doing this mock with a focus on SET only. Of course if they have an eye on other exams likes Tiffins/Kent etc it may not matter to them.

My daughter is taking the WallingtonPTA mock this weekend and I have told her the main aim is about having the exam experience but the result also matter, speed/time management /checking…..all that is part of the experience. ….while no reasonable person expect the question to be superclose to the real thing….I expect the format to be at least similar. Comparability to the rest of the cohort is the reason the PTA mock sell so much and that can be skewed if the test format does not reflect the real thing.
hermanmunster
Posts: 12817
Joined: Fri Sep 15, 2006 9:51 am
Location: The Seaside

Re: SuttonPTA mocks are not matching SET 2021 pattern?

Post by hermanmunster »

PettswoodFiona wrote:Bear in mind most PTA mocks are run by volunteers and agree it is ideal to reflect some of the test as much as possible, the opportunity to experience exam conditions, try a similar (if not exact) test etc are still useful experiences. They may have had papers from a previous year they couldn’t use and investment in another lot just wouldn’t have made it viable, there are lots of other possible reasons.

I know at my daughter’s school the pressure on the PTA by frantic parents just wasn’t worth the hassle so the mock tests folded. I wasn’t on the organsing committee but I did have friends who volunteered on the day of tests. Their overarching memory is that not one parent said thank you. Sometimes you need to think if you want some sort of mock or none. Commercial providers the bar is of course at a different level.

It must be a huge amount of work and great that the volunteers help out - agree the important thing is that the event happens in a similar setting and manner to the actual test - makes such a difference.
North Yorkshire used to do 3 exam sittings , at weekly intervals, only the 2nd and 3rd were marked, the first was the familiarisation and the papers were thrown away at the end but the important thing was they experienced the venue / the invigilator / the timing etc
Philwall
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat May 21, 2022 2:48 pm

Re: SuttonPTA mocks are not matching SET 2021 pattern?

Post by Philwall »

Aren’t the mocks based on the first stage test where both maths and English are multiple choice? The second stage then have the more open format? That’s my recollection.
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