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CAT test results
Posted: Mon Jun 17, 2013 2:54 pm
by didcot2002
Hi there
I wonder if anyone can enlighten me on what my son's year 4 CAT test results mean especially in terms of the 11 plus.
VR 131
Q 116
NVR 116
I have scoured the internet and here and can't find any answers - apologies if I am missing a whole section here!
My son is a July birth.
Thanks in advance.
Re: CAT test results
Posted: Mon Jun 17, 2013 3:46 pm
by Etienne
Difficult to say because expectations vary from 11+ area to 11+ area, depending on how competitive grammar school entry is.
These results are all above average - but they would have to be for grammar school standard.
The question is - are they far enough above average?
I would have thought VR is good enough.
Less certain about the other two results if you're in a highly competitive area.
Bear in mind that a single set of results may not be reliable.
There was a discussion about some of the issues regarding CATs here:
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... Ts#p207889" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Re: CAT test results
Posted: Mon Jun 17, 2013 3:55 pm
by didcot2002
Thank you Etienne. That made interesting reading.
We are in east Kent so not terrribly competitive like west Kent.
Out of interest what is the average result?
Thanks again.
Re: CAT test results
Posted: Mon Jun 17, 2013 5:01 pm
by Etienne
CAT scores between 89 and 111 are considered to be average.
GL Assessment (who publish CATs) have
three 'above average' categories:
112-118 (the so-called stanine 7)
119-126 (stanine 8 )
127+ (stanine 9) "very high"
It could be argued, therefore, that once you're into stanine 8, you're just entering the 'well-above average' band.
If I remember correctly, Kent used to have a minimum 11+ individual score of around 115 (don't know if it's changed), so you can see that 116 might be a bit borderline by that measurement.
Would you like this thread moved to Kent?
Re: CAT test results
Posted: Tue Jun 18, 2013 12:55 pm
by SunlampVexesEel
didcot2002 wrote:
VR 131
Q 116
NVR 116
OK... from a numerical point of view and making the following assumptions (i.e. assuming these tests are standardised like NFER)....
The average is defined to be 100 with a Standard Deviation of 15 (and assumed to be normally distributed).
If you have excel then NORMDIST(score,100,15,TRUE) is your friend.
So a score of 131 puts your child in the top 2% of those tested (Awesome) and a score of 116 puts your child in the top 15% of those tested (Very good).
Clearly you shouldn't ever extrapolate from one test and the 11+ here is so oversubscribed luck and performance on the day are a big factor but you are definitely in the right ball-park.
(You should also look at the raw scores as you might find that actually the 116 scores could have been due to a few raw marks (and hence the difference between 116 and a higher score might have been simply 1 question)).
Good Luck
Regards
SVE