11 Plus Exams Forum

Question for Etienne

We may go ahead and have an educational assessment carried out on our son. I am informed that the report will be 8 pages long. Would you take/send in all of this or hope that the educational psycholigist will write a summary and only the summary will be necessary. Thanks

Dear Louise

Some EdPsychs do provide a summary, but I think most panels would prefer to see the full report as well.

Ideally, everything (summary, if available, + full report) should be submitted in advance, so that the panel has time to study it in the week before the hearing.

Regards

Thanks Etienne. Merry Christmas to you.

for get them

We don't know how much "one who knows" really knows ......... Is the conclusion based on a sample of one (a disillusioned appellant)?

For what it's worth, my view of EdPsych reports has always been cautious:
"Such a report can sometimes be helpful (although it won’t be cheap!)....... the wording is often cautious...... it’s difficult to make direct comparisons between different kinds of tests.......... it’s disappointing that some educational psychologists do not advise parents of the margin of error associated with a single test result."

EdPsych reports will be only one bit of the evidence considered by an appeal panel. Other factors, such as the closeness of the 11+ score, will be important.

I used to hear many cases involving EdPsych reports, and it would be true to say that the majority of them did not succeed.

However, those appellants whose cases were strengthened by an EdPsych report, and were successful, will most likely think that the expense was worthwhile.

Hi Etienne,

King Edward VI (KEGS) Grammar School in Chelmsford, Essex, which along with the The Royal Grammar School in Colchester, is the most over-subscribed boys school in the county, have let it be known that only 1 appeal has ever succeeded in the last 12+ years. I also have a friend who works in appeals administration in the Manchester area and she tells me that there is also a very low success rate in appeals there. Is this a pattern across the counties that have grammar schools or are some authorities more sympathetic to appeals than others?

Thanks

Dear Guest

Nationally, approx. 30-40% of appeals are successful. The last figures I saw can be found here:
http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR ... 1_2005.pdf

The most striking difference seems to be not between grammar and other types of school, but between local authority and non-local authority schools.

The success rate for foundation and VA schools tends to be around 10% lower than usual (i.e. approx. 20-30%). I have written elsewhere of my reservations about the conduct of appeals in some non-LEA schools. See, for example, section A5:
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/11plus ... nswers.php

The ombudsman, in his special report on appeals, wrote: "We have observed differences in performance between LEAs and other admission authorities ..... we found faults proportionately in virtually twice as many cases involving other admission authorities as compared with cases involving LEAs (39% and 20% respectively)."

Regards

Hi Etienne,

Many thanks for your detailled answer. I looked at the DFES document but it doesn't appear to break down the appeals between selective and non-selective schools. I have little evidence to support it, other than general conversations I've had with parents who have gone through the 11+ system but I'm ready to bet (and I am guessing) that a 20% sucess rate of Grammar school appeals may be a tad high. Would appreciate your thoughts. I guess what I'm suggesting is that if a child has on average a 30% chance at appeal, and as parents you feel he or she has a good case, then it's definetely worth going for but if it's less than 5%, which my gut feeling tells me it must be at the Grammars, then, for me, it's probably not worth the stress.

Buckinghamshire publish their selection appeals data each year - it is even broken down by score - about 38% were successful last year. obviously most were 116+ but not all.

So no-one should be put off - it IS different when you are appealing to a single school as the school is also probably full. Allocation appeals are dealt with separately in Buckinghamshire.

Guest has raised an important issue, but we are moving off-topic, so I hope you don't mind if I continue the discussion about "success rates" as a separate thread.