Mock Exams

Discussion of the 11 Plus

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mdalip
Posts: 28
Joined: Mon Jan 29, 2018 12:25 am

Mock Exams

Post by mdalip »

Hi,

My son will be sitting in 11+ exams this year september and I am looking for some guidance as how many mock exams are right for my son as any search engine i am using i am getting details of different providers who are offering mock exams which is very confusing as I am not able to understand the differenc of one over the another?

Some people say that booking exam after every 2 weeks is good for the child and some says that once a month will be better as then there will be less stress on the child. Please if someone could share how to get along with the study plan and mock when going nearer to the big date and if there are any good mock exams provided that anyone could recommend?

thank you ,
ToadMum
Posts: 11945
Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2012 12:41 pm
Location: Essex

Re: Mock Exams

Post by ToadMum »

Hi,

Not the best person to ask about mocks here, but I can advise you that you might get a better response if you either state here for which area / school your DS will be sitting the 11+, or post again in the relevant area :) .
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx
Amber
Posts: 8058
Joined: Thu Sep 24, 2009 11:59 am

Re: Mock Exams

Post by Amber »

mdalip wrote:Some people say that booking exam after every 2 weeks is good for the child
Are these people providers of mock exams by any chance?

My children didn't do any mocks. I don't think they are are a big thing where I live but people in London and Herts etc seem to be very keen on them from what I gather on here. My own opinion is that perhaps it is worth doing one, if you are really determined to get a child into a particular school. But every two weeks or even every month? No way. These are ten year olds we are talking about. Think of how that would feel to be them - all that pressure.

And I agree with TM that you will do better by posting in the area forum below.
PettswoodFiona
Posts: 2134
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2014 11:24 pm
Location: Petts Wood, Bromley, Kent

Re: Mock Exams

Post by PettswoodFiona »

We home tutored so for us mocks were helpful in identifying areas of weakness and having exam like conditions. We booked two lots, one in early spring and one in late spring/early summer. We could probably have managed without the second lot but as DD was doing CEM and GL we decided to book both types of test. Every two weeks sounds like a nightmare to me.

One other key thing that came out of the mocks for us was that DD wasn't always marking the box on the answer sheet accurately so the machine couldn't read it, it was simple things like that that made a huge difference.

Be clear why you are booking the mocks and make sure the provider does help you with those reasons e.g. we wanted to identify any areas of weakness and the output that they sent us after the exam did tell us what types of questions DD wasn't doing so well in and we could then spend more time on these type of questions. Not all mocks do this, some run by schools often just offer a test like environment, similar questions to the ones you will get in the real test and a ranking compared to the others who sit.
Sparklecat
Posts: 281
Joined: Fri May 02, 2014 6:16 pm

Re: Mock Exams

Post by Sparklecat »

We did one mock exam which was useful for highlighting potential nerves, but the format and layout of the papers were not that similar to they real thing, and the result was miles out to where she finished. I would certainly not do regular expensive mocks. I would however regularly test at home and gently work on weaker areas.
Tinkers
Posts: 7240
Joined: Mon May 16, 2011 2:05 pm
Location: Reading

Re: Mock Exams

Post by Tinkers »

The phrase “you don’t make a pig heavier by weighing it” comes to mind here. Mocks every couple of weeks is very OTT, when you could be spending that time (and possibly money) on actual learning.

Mocks might be useful for highlighting weaker areas, but you or a decent tutor should be already spotting these as you go through. However if you want to do mocks for this reason, then make sure the mock provider will give you detail feedback on how it went. Otherwise it’s no help whatsoever.

Mocks can also be useful for giving DCs a feel of what it would be like on the day, but again it will probably not be at the same place as the real thing. The set up may be different and the test format may be different. This might be a good thing or a bad thing. Learning to expect the unexpected and coping with it may be a good thing, or it might dent confidence. You need to decide what’s best for your DC.

Personally we didn’t do a commercial mock. I didn’t think about it and there weren’t many around. Since then there seems to have been an explosion of providers. We did one at the dining room table and DD visualised being in one of the school classrooms, (her School do the tests in classrooms not the hall, so doing a mock test in a big hall wouldn’t have necessarily being a realistic representation).

Remember there is no regulation for providers so you have no idea whether what they are providing is relevant, the up to date format, suitable difficulty levels, correct exam conditions etc.
mumsdarling2
Posts: 270
Joined: Tue Apr 08, 2014 10:25 pm

Re: Mock Exams

Post by mumsdarling2 »

We did three mocks in total. Though they were useful to settle DS's nerves, they were not at all like the real ones. In hind sight, we could probably have done just one and saved a good deal of money and anxiety over the mock results.
livefortoday
Posts: 18
Joined: Thu Nov 10, 2011 11:00 pm

Re: Mock Exams

Post by livefortoday »

My daughter attended 4 mock exams (all different providers) with 4 weeks between some and only 2 weeks between others. My daughter said none were like the real thing in content (CEM). However the exams did get her used to different ways of working so she wasn't phased by being asked to work in a slightly different way. She is also home educated and has therefore never sat a formal test so I felt it would be beneficial. She gained a very good score and will almost certainly be offered a place which she doesn't want. :D Got to love children. :roll:
Daogroupie
Posts: 11099
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Herts

Re: Mock Exams

Post by Daogroupie »

As you were doing a CEM exam did you book four CEM mocks?

If so how did you end up with four mock exams that were nothing like CEM?

CEM mocks are very easy to find nowadays.

OP, Mocks are very useful if they are in the exact format of the exam you are going to be sitting. There is a large range of mocks out there so you should be able to find one that is in the right format. DG
ToadMum
Posts: 11945
Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2012 12:41 pm
Location: Essex

Re: Mock Exams

Post by ToadMum »

Daogroupie wrote:As you were doing a CEM exam did you book four CEM mocks?

If so how did you end up with four mock exams that were nothing like CEM?

CEM mocks are very easy to find nowadays.

DG
'CEM' mocks may be.

CEM mocks definitely won't.
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx
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