11 Plus Exams Forum

We too surprised at relatively low score 227. DD scored much higher in Kent and Bexley tests on the VR and NVR sections. Interesting to read how many people believe scores are lower than expected. Might there be a marking issue?

Prudence wrote:Our DD got 225, this is all new to us. We are outside catchment area and we were placed in group 3. Do we still have a chance of her getting a place? How does the whole process work?

Sorry as you’ve probably read on the admissions materials no one in Group 3 has got a place in past years. It is however a good score. If you were intending on moving anyway you can contact the school to find out if there is a cut off date for change of address to move you into Group 2.

SweetMemory15 wrote:Got the post ..We got 217 ..We are 2 miles away from Newstead. ANY BIG CHANCES?

As long as you are within the 9 mile zone distance makes no difference. Definitely worth a chance but it may be a long wait. Whilst it has come that low in the past it has only been one year and sorry (don’t shoot the messenger) not the last two years. Shortly after 1 March last year letters were sent out with waitlist positions for those who hadn’t got a place. We know that position 13 got a place last year so we have a bit more to go on than just score to give you an indication of how things might stand. Good luck.

Enduring the uncertainty of a waiting list, and how long you do so is entirely based on your own appetite & circumstances.

However, I saw last year there was movement all the way until mid September!

Last year a DD in my daughter's year got offered NW in August. By that stage she had decided on an alternative, so did not accept it.
Similarly, a girl was offered her 1st choice in mid September. By that stage had settled and liked alternative so did not accept.

They'd keep going down the list until they found a DC who was at a 2nd or lower choice school they did not like.

The exam & result is only the start of the process...

PS.. By "last year" I actually mean this year, the September 2018 entry. You are all discussing "next year"; Sept 2019 entry!

First time of using so apologies if this post has already appeared. We’re (DD) sitting on 227. We were surprised as all previous indications were she would get a lot higher but I guess you never know what they do on the day / how difficult the paper was vis a vis previous years. Clearly there have been some high scores but would be interested to hear if general feeling is that majority of scores were lower than expected, and indeed whether anyone is going to return papers to be remarked... good luck to all, a long wait...

Thanks for your support Apprentice.

I wonder if the test has changed significantly this year or maybe changed provider? I question this because my highly academic DD2 scored 20 points lower than DD1 who is already at NW. DD2 has shown more natural ability since birth than DD1! I'm not favouring one over the other but it's a fact. I will accept the score and not ask for a remark but am tempted to. You never know maybe the entry scores will end up being lower than usual. Sending hope and good luck to everyone!

My daughter’s score also 215. We didn’t expect this score. Normally, she is scores VR high but she received her less than non verbal. Our group is 2. Does she have any chance to get it. This is our first choice school. Is any options to re- evaluation this score? We really upset from yesterday..

Question - Does anyone know if Newstead share our results with schools (as the Kent & Bexley results)?
Thank you.

Nkib wrote:First time of using so apologies if this post has already appeared. We’re (DD) sitting on 227. We were surprised as all previous indications were she would get a lot higher but I guess you never know what they do on the day / how difficult the paper was vis a vis previous years. Clearly there have been some high scores but would be interested to hear if general feeling is that majority of scores were lower than expected, and indeed whether anyone is going to return papers to be remarked... good luck to all, a long wait...

These are standardised scores. The candidates are being compared against the rest of this particular exam cohort and as this exam is very definitely opt in, with only one girls' grammar in the LEA - the average raw score is likely to be relatively high, compared with the same papers being sat by every year 6 girl in the London Borough of Bromley as well as the wider priority area.

In Kent, the whole system is geared towards providing a grammar school place for ?about a quarter of the cohort, so the ability spread of the candidates will be greater. It's like comparing your (presumably 'top table') DD's position in an exam taken by every other child in year 6 with one only taken by the same number of DC but all 'top table' in their respective schools.

Newsteadmum1 wrote:Thanks for your support Apprentice.

I wonder if the test has changed significantly this year or maybe changed provider? I question this because my highly academic DD2 scored 20 points lower than DD1 who is already at NW. DD2 has shown more natural ability since birth than DD1! I'm not favouring one over the other but it's a fact. I will accept the score and not ask for a remark but am tempted to. You never know maybe the entry scores will end up being lower than usual. Sending hope and good luck to everyone!

Hi Newsteadmum1,

As the sample papers they sold us this year were identical to their past sample papers, I don't think they changed the provider or the test style.

However, if your feeling is so strong, I don't see any harm asking for re-marking.

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I have just read Toadmum's comment above after posting my reply. I think Toadmum explained well as to why the discrepancy might be felt between what our DDs got and what we think they should've. It's the age standardisation. With the record high number of the girls sitting the NW test, I could see why my DD might have achieved not as well as I expected compared to the cohort.

---------edited---------

Good luck to your DD2 and all other DDs on the board including mine. This is hard, isn't it? I need to keep myself well distracted until March, I guess.