Mock exams: When, where and how many?

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maus
Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Apr 30, 2021 11:37 am

Mock exams: When, where and how many?

Post by maus »

We are very late starters for 11+ prep, doing the tutoring ourselves and trying to figure out the best approach to mock exams.

The school we're aiming for tests Maths, VR and English/Writing in early September. There are a few places available for mock exams at the school in June/July/August.

There are also mock exams a bit closer to our house for another school but in the same subjects.

DD has been doing well with assessment/practice papers over the last few weeks, but is early June too soon for a mock exam? Or would it serve as a good benchmark?

How many mocks do people do? How important is it that they're tailored for the individual schools?

I think we need to do at least one mock at the school we're aiming for, but would it make sense to also do one closer to home even if it's categorised under another school? (It would not be at the other school, but at a local college where mock exams are run.)

Or would tuition centres that run mocks be another option?

Thanks for any insight.
SH031
Posts: 28
Joined: Tue Aug 25, 2020 10:30 am

Re: Mock exams: When, where and how many?

Post by SH031 »

Hi,

I don't think June is to early to do a mock it will give you an idea of areas of weakness. I planned to do several mocks but because of covid they were cancelled.

In terms of sitting at different schools etc that is a good idea because it gives the child experience of sitting a exam in a strange building etc.
2Socks
Posts: 375
Joined: Mon Oct 14, 2019 9:04 am

Re: Mock exams: When, where and how many?

Post by 2Socks »

I'm not going to be able to answer your question, but can give you my thoughts!
I wanted DD to do at least one mock to get an idea of the concentration required and also sitting in an unfamiliar room in exam conditions.
I wanted her to do a mock late enough that only a small amount of the material would be a surprise, but early enough that a poor result would be easy to argue away as 'it's early, still have plenty of time to improve'.
She did a mock about 10 weeks before the test...went in and came out happy, so we didn't do another. If she had been stressed we would have booked another to help her adjust to the environment. For us, it was about her being comfortable in exam conditions that was important, we paid very little notice to the results.
poppety
Posts: 90
Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2016 11:46 am

Re: Mock exams: When, where and how many?

Post by poppety »

My daughter sat the CEM test three years ago and my son is taking it this year. The advice we were given from our tutor was to take two tests - an early one in June and then another in August. The early one helps to highlight areas of weakness and the later one serves as a final practice run ahead of the test in September. It worked well for our daughter so we are doing the same for our son. The mocks were held is a school hall with a large number of students to replicate the actual test (although this year there won't be as many children in the room due to Covid restrictions) Hope that helps!
VictoryW
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon May 24, 2021 9:32 pm

Re: Mock exams: When, where and how many?

Post by VictoryW »

Hi, I am a new comer, I appreciate if someone helps to answer below
1. I just made a book with Elevenplusexam physical mock (June) , paid, but the status is waiting list, How likely can I have a space for physical mock?
2. Do I need to add all waiting list for all the physical mocks in case of I cannot get a space in June?
3. @maus From above post 'The school we're aiming for tests Maths, VR and English/Writing in early September. There are a few places available for mock exams at the school in June/July/August.'
May I know what does 'the school' mean? Does your aiming school provide mock test? or Do you mean the school is the physical mock location?

Thanks in advance!
mitasol
Posts: 2755
Joined: Wed Feb 27, 2008 9:59 am

Re: Mock exams: When, where and how many?

Post by mitasol »

For any questions regarding the elevenplusexam mocks you should call the office who will be able to answer all your questions. https://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/contact-us" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

For your last question. The grammar schools are located across the country. Each has separate admissions tests and mocks. You need to identify the schools you are interested in to ensure you have all the relevant information.
aquafina
Posts: 34
Joined: Mon Nov 07, 2016 12:54 pm

Re: Mock exams: When, where and how many?

Post by aquafina »

I’ve noticed that some mock test providers allow you to view the full test and the answers whilst others don’t, quoting IPR and only providing results and feedback.

What are people’s opinion on this?
2Socks
Posts: 375
Joined: Mon Oct 14, 2019 9:04 am

Re: Mock exams: When, where and how many?

Post by 2Socks »

aquafina wrote:I’ve noticed that some mock test providers allow you to view the full test and the answers whilst others don’t, quoting IPR and only providing results and feedback.

What are people’s opinion on this?
I wanted to see a copy of the questions and answers. Although I haven't seen a CEM test in person, I wanted to see the type and level of the questions so that I could have an indication of whether a potential poor performance was the result of questions that she wasn't prepared for or whether it may be nerves/difficulty concentrating etc. If the questions were ones that I judged that she would normally be able to answer I planned to book another mock.
Octsmum
Posts: 345
Joined: Wed Mar 08, 2017 11:21 pm

Re: Mock exams: When, where and how many?

Post by Octsmum »

Hi

My DD did 2 mock exams - about 2 weeks apart at the end of July / beginning of August. It was as close as we could have got to the real thing - seated apart, strangers, 2 papers back to back, short break in between etc replicating exam conditions. After that we just ticked along with light practice - like 10 mins test.

We also did a fair amount of timed 'test' practice throughout our whole journey - starting off with times tables to get speed up & building up on each of maths, VR & non VR - so doing timed work was just part of our strategy. It helped DD understand when the question was going to take long & to move on etc.

HTH

edited to add that our test practice - helped us work out the types of questions she struggled with & where to brush up on skills (having ensured we covered a good foundation before we started)
maus
Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Apr 30, 2021 11:37 am

Re: Mock exams: When, where and how many?

Post by maus »

Thanks very much for the responses.

I think the dates that work best for us will be a late-July and mid-August mock exam, and hopefully that will give us time to identify any areas we need to revise/focus on.

Does anyone have experience of mock online exams? Are they any good? I'd prefer to do two onsite tests in the summer, but maybe an online one in June would be a good way to get a sense of where we are.
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