Year 7 CAT Tests

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scatshouse
Posts: 438
Joined: Wed Sep 26, 2007 10:00 am

Year 7 CAT Tests

Post by scatshouse »

Hi,

Does anybody know what type of questions appear in the year 7 CAT tests?
Thanks
Scatshouse.
Pensby
Posts: 197
Joined: Mon Apr 30, 2007 7:28 pm
Location: PENSBY

Post by Pensby »

Hi Scatshouse
I think cat tests are the tests that were used in primary schools,I know my kids them in maths and english and were given a score up 144 ,so a bit like an 11+ score.
My DD did them at West Kirby and said they were in eng and maths and were just used as a guide line for when they first started year 7.I don't think the school takes much notice of sats and the 11+ was a nearly a year ago!so I think it may be used if they set for maths or eng.
Hope your DS is enjoying Calday as much as mine!
Pensby :lol:
scatshouse
Posts: 438
Joined: Wed Sep 26, 2007 10:00 am

Post by scatshouse »

Hi Pensby,

The boys had assessments in English and maths the first couple of days after starting, I presumed these were to enable setting. According to the school diary they are having the cat tests at the beginning of October and I don't know if they are meant to revise or anything, or just let them get on with it. The first I'd heard of these tests was when my daughter said she sat them in year 7 at her school but she can't, or won't, remember what they contained. I do remember she was invited to join 'NAGTY' after them but don't know much else.

My son is loving the school too, especially the sciences and Russian. (He fancies himself as James Bond and is throwing himself into learning the different languages , his accent sounds fine to me but I suspect he's making a lot of the words up :D ).

Can't believe it's almost a year since they sat the tests, time flies.

Scatshouse.
Pensby
Posts: 197
Joined: Mon Apr 30, 2007 7:28 pm
Location: PENSBY

Post by Pensby »

Hi Scatshouse,just found this on the Parent Centre site,I think its helpful;

CAT stands for 'cognitive ability test'; basically, the tests are not related to the national curriculum (as are the QCA optional tests your child might have done) but give an indication of the child's ability in language, maths and science. Their scores can be used to predict (as a guide only) what level they might be expected to attain in the Y9 tests.

The score gives a probability for achieving each level at the end of the keystage. You can download the table relating exact scores to potential levels from the NFER-Nelson site; go to Education/Support Materials then click on the 'KS3 summary table' tab (you will need Adobe Reader though, as it is a PDF file).

Roughly, a score of 92 or above suggests level 5 in all three subjects, a score of 106 or higher suggests level 6, a score of 128 or above suggest level 7/8. However, children are not computers, and testing of any sort is by no means an exact science. It is best to treat the scores and their potential implications as a guideline only.

As I said eariler I know my kids did these tests at primary,they never revised and we got given the scores at parents evening.Your DD probably got to join NAGTY after because they give a score like an IQ ( ie 100 is normal and the highest is 144)

hope that helps, Pensby :lol:
yoyo123
Posts: 8099
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2007 3:32 pm
Location: East Kent

Post by yoyo123 »

Cognitive Ability Tests.

In year 6 they are nvr and vr so I assume they are teh same in year 7?
One Down
Posts: 114
Joined: Mon Apr 28, 2008 11:28 am
Location: Kent

Post by One Down »

My DD1 also did a quantitative paper in her year 7 CATs, as well as VR and NVR, all completed on computer. She said there were more things to puzzle out, rather than actual maths in the quantitative paper. We got the results as scores (up to 141+) and also percentiles (1-9). NFER (now GL Assessment) has a page on how to interpret these scores on their website:
http://www.gl-assessment.co.uk/educatio ... .asp?css=1
Hope this is useful
KB
Posts: 3030
Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2008 3:28 pm

Post by KB »

Our school does not give the results to students or parents. They mainly use them to compare with the level of work the student is producing - mostly to check if students are working at their full potential.
Mine have SLDs that impact CAT results so it always appears that they are 'over acheiving' - which they manage by sheer hard work in most subjects :)
Even if a school uses them to set early on they are not hugely important - I don't know of any schools that don't adjust sets in the light of subsequent performance.
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