Hi Etienne,
Received this from our HT,
Dear Parents and Carers
We have been made aware that there has been an audio issue that has affected some children taking the Bucks Secondary Transfer Test and I felt it important that this information was shared with our Year 6 parents.
For your information, I wish to inform you that **** School used the CD version and not the affected MP3 file.
Additional FAQs
1) What can you tell me about the audio issue in the Secondary Transfer Test taken in September 2018?
There was a minor variation in the timings for one component of one paper in the Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test this year, owing to a technical error. The error only related to the MP3 version of the instructions produced by GL Assessment and it meant that some children in a small number of schools may have received five additional minutes to complete one part of one paper. The vast majority of schools used the CD version of the instructions. This means that the vast majority of children sat the test under standard test conditions.
2) What have you done about it?
GL Assessment has conducted a full investigation of the error and a thorough statistical analysis of any impact this may have had. This analysis has been verified independently by an external statistician and psychometrician, who was approved by TBGS. We are fully satisfied that the results are as robust and reliable as all previous Secondary Transfer Tests in Bucks. The reliability of the test for all candidates remains extremely high, meaning that each individual result is fair and valid.
3) Wouldn’t it be fairer to allow children to re-sit? As the technical error was minor and the results have been independently verified, we believe that compelling children to re-sit the test would be unfair and unnecessary. 4) As a parent, what are my options? If your child did not automatically qualify for a place at grammar school, the options available to you are detailed on the Bucks CC website:
https://www.buckscc.gov.uk/services/edu ... 019-entry/
If you require further information, I have been asked to direct parents to the following link:
https://www.thebucksgrammarschools.org/faqs
I hope that this does not detract from your weekend.
Regards
Easy for them to say …..?

Covered on this thread: https://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/11plus/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=55719

Thanks for drawing attention to this on Appeals.

Reviews: If grammar school heads are satisfied that there is evidence that "each individual result is fair and valid", I see no point in raising the issue in review paperwork when two out of three review panel members will be grammar school heads.

Appeals are rather different in that the panel members will be independent of the system. There is the opportunity to ask questions at an appeal hearing. Even so, I'm doubtful that it would be wise to risk taking attention away from the main points of an individual appeal case - unless there are strong arguments for doing so.

_________________
Etienne