What to do and when...
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fm
I think your exams are similar to ours in Birmingham. The main requirements are:
a) a child who reads a lot and to an advanced level (Little Women etc.)
b) a competent, problem-solving mathematician but not necessarily a genius.
c) a child who reads a lot and to an advanced level (Little Women etc.)
d) a wide vocabulary
e) a child who reads a lot and to an advanced level (Little Women etc.)
f) a child natural good though not necessarily brilliant at non-verbal
g) a child who reads a lot and to an advanced level (Little Women etc.)
Can you spot the common theme? Seriously though, I tutor for Birmingham and spend much of the year trying to compensate for the children who don't read (including my own daughter). Our exam (even the maths bit) is targetting the sort of child who reads copiously and for pleasure and has great intellectual curiosity--basically the kind of child for whom grammar schools were originally designed.
Your daughter sounds like this child. While I wouldn't be complacent and I would make sure she has high level mental skills and a good vocabulary, I would trust in this type of exam. It is as good as a Vulcan mind probe in identifying the really bright.
By the way, I have 3 pupils this year following bright, lauded big brothers and it really is uphill work, convincing them they are just as bright.
a) a child who reads a lot and to an advanced level (Little Women etc.)
b) a competent, problem-solving mathematician but not necessarily a genius.
c) a child who reads a lot and to an advanced level (Little Women etc.)
d) a wide vocabulary
e) a child who reads a lot and to an advanced level (Little Women etc.)
f) a child natural good though not necessarily brilliant at non-verbal
g) a child who reads a lot and to an advanced level (Little Women etc.)
Can you spot the common theme? Seriously though, I tutor for Birmingham and spend much of the year trying to compensate for the children who don't read (including my own daughter). Our exam (even the maths bit) is targetting the sort of child who reads copiously and for pleasure and has great intellectual curiosity--basically the kind of child for whom grammar schools were originally designed.
Your daughter sounds like this child. While I wouldn't be complacent and I would make sure she has high level mental skills and a good vocabulary, I would trust in this type of exam. It is as good as a Vulcan mind probe in identifying the really bright.
By the way, I have 3 pupils this year following bright, lauded big brothers and it really is uphill work, convincing them they are just as bright.
Hi Ed's Mum
fm from the B/Ham forum posted details about the Nov 2007 KE Foundation exam set by Univ of Durham CEM. There will be a lot of similarities to Warwickshire. You can use this as a starter for 10.
As you can see vocabulary is key for CEM exam, the following are a few sections of advice quotes which are probably valid for Warwickshire:-
fm from the B/Ham forum posted details about the Nov 2007 KE Foundation exam set by Univ of Durham CEM. There will be a lot of similarities to Warwickshire. You can use this as a starter for 10.
You can read about this at http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... c&start=10Below is a rough version of what was in this year's exam according to my pupils. Maybe others can improve on it.
Comprehension: Boy escaping from palace guards. 12 Questions. Multiple Choice. Sats level 5 readers found easy, level 4 considered hard.
Proofreading: Spelling, punctuation (no speech again), English grammar. Passage was hard but mistakes weren't. It was not the basis of a comprehension this year.
Non-verbal: Several 3d models of cubes (think Lego) given at top of page. Then list of 2d views. Had to say from which 3d model the 2d view came. 20 questions.
Maths: Data interpretatoion. Routes, timetables. Speed/time problems.Money problems. Fraction problems. Test their ability to read an interpret information. 25 mins approx. 18 questions with subsections to most. Very few of my pupils finished this year.
Break
Vocabulary: 56 words. 12 minutes. So much easier on time. Don't know if it was easier words. Several of my pupils did claim to know at least half the words (which is more than other years) but I did target this area more thoroughly this year. Sample words: altitude (back in from 3years ago), trivial,emerge, pigment, covet, antiquity, tranquil, drought, passive, incision, bewildered, device.
Missing Word: Several passages with omitted words. Choice of 3 to fill in . Best fit in context. 10 words per passage and 7 passages. 13 minutes. Words not complex e.g. choose from 'air, summit or peak' but close in meaning. Varied passages including one from Northern Lights by Philip Pullman so that will give you an idea of level.
Quick maths: This was reintroduced, having been taken out last year. 12minutes. Anything from 20 to 50 questions according to my pupils. I would appreciate if anyone knows this for definite and can pass it on. At a guess I think it was 40. Fractions, ordering fractions, decimals,algebra, powers off. Most children found impossible to finish. Very demanding on time but suited to good arithmeticians.
Non -verbal: 6 hexagons arranged around a central hexagon. A pattern connecting all, with a ? on one blank one. Select the most appropriate to replace the blank from a choice of I don't know how many. 12 minutes. 20 questions. All seemed to finish and my 'naturals' found it relatively easy.
I have to emphasise that this is not going to be a wholly accurate description of the exam. Basically I got 8 different descriptions of the exam and based timings on the most frequently appearing time.
My best advice to people targeting KE next year would be to stay flexible. By all means tutor towards the components above but do not expect an exam which replicates this. Above all, as well as doing formal work in maths, non-verbal and English, the best practice your child can do for this exam is read, read and read some more. The best thing you can do is listen to them, read to them, create an environment that encourages reading.
From personal experience,I wish I had done less maths and non-verbal, and more reading with my child. It is certainly not something you can expect a tutor to address in an hour a week.
Good luck to this year's entrants and any more information from last year's would be appreicated.
As you can see vocabulary is key for CEM exam, the following are a few sections of advice quotes which are probably valid for Warwickshire:-
Firstly, the KECH exam is quite different to the Bond Papers; the exam is set by the Univ of Durham Curriculum Centre and no Practice papers are available.
However if you look through the Birmingham posts you will find some details of the previous format of the exam and question types. The KE Foundation exam is quite tough, probably much tougher than Bond or NFER and most find that they are under quite intense time pressure
The best advice I can give is to prepare for the unexpected and try as large a variety of sample papers as you can. Bond, NFER and maybe some of the CD based material available from this site.
A strong vocabulary knowledge is key; they are expecting children to have a reading age in excess of 14.5 years.
Re NFER suitability for The Univ of Durham CEM exam.
Not a great match - Durham CEM claim that their tests are 'Tutor Proof' but that really isn't the case. It appears to be very similar to Birmingham KE Founbdation exam but I can't be sure if the format is identical. The actual papers used by Warwick will be bespoke.
Worthwhile taking a hunt through the Birmingham forum for KE exam postings. fm (who is a tutor) posted some very useful material.
When my son did the Birmingham KE 11+ test a couple of years ago we did a whole variety of different 11+ practice papers - just about everyone we could find in fact. This generally served him well for the Maths(numerical) and NVR, but the VR sections in the KE exams did seem to surprise him and many of his friends who took the exam.
There was a big section at that time on word synonyms - 80 questions to answer in 10 mins - this was an area that was not particularly well covered at the time by traditional VR papers, although there is some good material now available. Some from this site.
The key thing is to prepare you child for the unexpected - that's why I think that doing a huge variety of papers is important. It's in the nature of CEM to continually try to find new and original type of 11+ questions in order to maintain their 'Tutor Proof' claims.
Also take a look at the following posts re the Cloze tests in Warwickshire - these haven't been included in the KE Tests to date but could be in future. Trying a few Cloze example would be useful practice:-
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... sc&start=0
Also look through the forum at http://www.usingenglish.com some good examples.
Finally, can't really comment about Bond scores - it's be so long since my children sat an 11+. I think I recall that they found the Bond papers a little harder than NFER, so it sounds like you are in the approximate ball park. We were always told that you need to be averaging 90%+ on NFER to be reasonably confident.
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Rose petal
- Posts: 111
- Joined: Sat May 17, 2008 9:37 am
Hi there
I find it hard to countenance that there will be a February sitting for the exam. Reason being, school places are offered on 1/2 March, therefore there is a little window of time in sitting papers, marking, standardising scores, submitting back to Warks Council and then allocating places. The timelines are just too tight.
But then again, Warks Council aren't much for transparency.
I find it hard to countenance that there will be a February sitting for the exam. Reason being, school places are offered on 1/2 March, therefore there is a little window of time in sitting papers, marking, standardising scores, submitting back to Warks Council and then allocating places. The timelines are just too tight.
But then again, Warks Council aren't much for transparency.
