Why is the school withholding test scores-how do we get them

[Jumpingthroughhoops]

Hello all,

I'm talking about a mid-year test here (yr8) to a school out of area.

The admissions tutor of the school in question said there were no places available at the moment but she was very keen to get my child tested quickly in case one became available (there was no time to tutor).

After the test I received a letter stating that my child did not pass with no other information about the tests.

If they are tested at 11+ they get the actual scores for each area and the qualifying score don't they?

The letter said that if we wanted to appeal we would have to go through our own education authority and then further details would be released!

If we contact our EA surely it may jepardise my childs’ current school place? Why would we do that if we don’t know how far away my child was from passing?

I'm not particularly wanting to appeal, whether my child was close to getting in or not as I don’t think I want them to go to a school with this kind of attitude to be honest but we would both like the results. My child tried really hard and I’m quite annoyed that they are ignoring us and withholding information.

I e-mailed the admissions tutor politely, asking for the information and she has just ignored me completely! She was always very quick to respond to e-mails before the test...

Why was she so keen to get DC tested so quickly? (Do the schools get paid each time someone takes the test?)

Does anyone know if I have the same rights to access this information as someone who passed the 11+?

Any advice would be most welcome. Thanks for reading.

[Daogroupie]

What area are you in?

It is upto the school what data they give you. Some schools give you chapter and verse, some just say you did not reach the standard.

The school chooses what information to give you. DG

[Sorrel]

St Olaves in Bromley runs its own admission tests and gives no information to those who don't get through.

[ToadMum]

Are you talking about your child's place, as in, the one which they are about to be allocated on Thursday, for a place in year 7 this coming September?

Or is your child already in secondary school and you are looking to transfer him / her to a different school?

Either way, the only thing that terminates your child's place at the school s/he is currently in or is about to be offered is you telling the Admissions Authority that you no longer require the place there. Unless the child has been permanently excluded, of course, but I assume that this is not the case here?

[streathammum]

OP said it's an in-year transfer for a Y8 child. So I'm also a bit confused about how telling the EA about the selective test might jeopordise a place - perhaps the OP just needs some reassurance that the current school can't withdraw the place on the basis that the OP is looking at other schools elsewhere?

[ToadMum]

OP said it's an in-year transfer for a Y8 child. So I'm also a bit confused about how telling the EA about the selective test might jeopordise a place - perhaps the OP just needs some reassurance that the current school can't withdraw the place on the basis that the OP is looking at other schools elsewhere?

Oops, yes, just realised I'd missed that bit .

Certainly in Essex, the mid-year transfer request form asks whether one has discussed the desired move with the child's current school (although tbh I can't remember whether it explains the relevance of this question).

Anyway, the child stays on roll at the current school until taken off it by the parent or, I assume, via some process when the new school tells the LEA that the child is now on roll there. When one of ours was moving, the Admissions lady at her old school said that when DD didn't turn up there on the notified first day at her new school, she would just ring the new school to check that she had actually turned up there.

[Jumpingthroughhoops]

Thank you to everyone who has replied.

It is a school in Grantham, Lincolnshire, and we are out of area. It does give out detailed scores at 11+ as far as I know.

Yes I was looking for some reassurance that my child would not lose their place at their current school- so good news there! The current school know we have been looking at other schools.

It is frustrating not to be given any information. Does anyone know if the Grammar School will share the detailed information with the current school? Not likely that they will tell us either as they didn't tell us the CAT's results though!

[MillyMollyMandy]

Have you tried asking the current school for the CAT test results? My DC's school did them in Year 7 but didn't give out the results so I emailed the Head of Year 7 who sent them to me. Later in the year they had a parents evening at which CAT scores were given to parents.

With regard to the 12+ exam your DC has taken, do you know if the school wrote the exam themselves rather than it having been set by CEM or GL Assessment? If so, then you could put in a subject access request under the Data Protection Act, requesting the scores. If it were set by CEM you would get the raw scores but not be told what it was out of which makes it pointless but they have gotten away with that for 'commercial reasons'.

[mystery]

There probably wasn't a pass/fail mark either --- did they use those words? What information did they give about the test before you sat it and what else did they require- previous school reference etc as well?

For an in-year admission our school does it on the basis of current school report and a CAT test of some sort - and then pupils are weighed up against others who are applying for the spare place and the "best" one wins. But there is an element of judgement I am sure.

A subject access request sounds maybe possible --- but maybe as the pupil does not actually attend that school they fall outside the legislation? Who is the admission authority for the school you have applied to?

If you want the info, I think you should get advice from the ICO on how to do it. I see a chase around various organisations happening otherwise. And it might be that none of the institutions concerned does, legally, have to give it to you so they will be doing you a favour, so to speak, if they do so.

[Amber]

One of my children did an in-year test to get into a GS for Y8. I do not think there was a pass or fail score to be honest - DC sat tests in Maths, English and Science and I think the deal was to demonstrate similar ability to the cohort they would be joining. This school was also keen to do the test immediately to prevent revision or tutoring, and DC was told to strike through and annotate any questions where the content had not been covered at the previous school, to mitigate disadvantage that way. This was a while back now and we had a call back the same day reporting success and offering a place subject to there being one! A couple of days later the Head called us (on a Sunday!) to say that if we needed any help appealing he would be happy to give it (this was strange as we assumed we would be appealing against him) but in the event we heard in August (test was in June) that there was a place.

In other words, schools can do what they like with in-year admissions. The Admissions Secretary at this particular school said they were fed up of a highly tutored cohort who could do VR and not much else (this was pre-CEM) so made sure the ones they took in-year were what they were looking for. So I think there is more room for subjectivity and wriggle-room and less reliance on a pass/fail. I am sorry your child wasn't successful. I do know someone who pushed for an unsuccessful in-year test to be reconsidered and eventually got the child into the school on appeal, but there were some special circumstances in that case I believe.