Format for kent test?

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fitnessfanatic
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Mar 25, 2009 9:39 pm

Format for kent test?

Post by fitnessfanatic »

Hi there, I am new to this and have a son in year 5. I just purchases a set of NFER tests that state they are the standard format and I am wondering if they are the correct ones or if I should have gone for multiple choice?

I sat with my son this evening and he completed the non verbal reasoning section under test conditions and I was a bit disappointed that he only got 25/60 correct. Is this something that can be improved upon or is it a skill that you either "get" or you don't?

Stressful lark this isn't it?
:oops:
yoyo123
Posts: 8099
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2007 3:32 pm
Location: East Kent

Post by yoyo123 »

Kent Test is multiple choice format.
They are set by Nfer so teh GL assessment ones are teh ones you want.

Tests are maths, Non verbal and verbal reasoning. They don't do the English paper, but instead do a piece of writing which will not be looked at unless the child is borderline in which case there is another chance to see what they can do.

don't worry too much if he has found it a bit difficult to begin with, go over the ones he had difficulty with and practice more examples of these.

I can recommend teh Tutors free verbal reasoning methods and techniques course from this site.

It will also help if you work on his vocabulary and quick recall of tables, square numbers , prime numbers etc.

If you have any questions just ask, there are lots of people who are willing to help.
Bexley Mum 2
Posts: 851
Joined: Sat Nov 17, 2007 9:55 pm
Location: Bexley

Post by Bexley Mum 2 »

fitnessfanatic - hi there. If you've just started the NFER NVR papers, you probably started with NVR paper A. This is probably the hardest paper known to man.

When I first started on the 11+ nightmare I gave my now 14 year old son this paper to do during the summer holidays (tests in November). He scored about 45% on it. I was very taken aback as he is brilliant at puzzles and maths, very spatially aware etc so I'd expected much better from him. I did the test myself to try and find out what the problem was and managed to scrape 60% though it took me twice as long as it should have done. But, by the time we'd worked through a few papers he started to realise what they were looking for and he passed the Bexley 11+ (also set by NFER) comfortably.

I worked through the NVR papers and some of the Bond NVR papers with my second son and he could do them - but absolutely never within the time allocated. However, something must have clicked because he passed the Bexley 11+. He also sat the Kent 11+ and passed that one too.

I do believe that NVR can look completely alien to a child (and adult!) but once they start to see the patterns they can quickly get the hang of it. One trick is that there are usually 2 or 3 possibilities that can be eliminated quite quickly, so you can focus on the remaining ones. I found it particularly useful with my second son to do the questions with him and turn it into a competition to see who could get the answer first. I only ever used to time him secretly because he would panic if he thought he was under any time pressure. I worked on the assumption that we didn't need to do timed tests because the better he got the quicker he'd get and this paid off.

It sounds as if you may have bought a mixed set of papers. There are only 4 each of the NFER NVR, VR and Maths papers on the market. You can buy them in mixed sets or sets of 4 Maths, 4 NVR and 4 VR. Bond papers are good because they explain how the right answer is arrived at.

Good Luck!!
shuff
Posts: 205
Joined: Thu Apr 17, 2008 1:54 pm

Post by shuff »

Ditto to the above about the NFER paper A being the hardest one in the pack. I have to say though, this years real 11+ NVR was, quote from DS, harder than paper A, it really was awful. My DS was scoring pretty well with NVR but was shocked by this years one. Having said that, they may decide to make one of the other papers harder this year e.g. maths, they never seem to follow the same formula.
reddebs
Posts: 187
Joined: Thu Oct 11, 2007 10:21 pm
Location: Medway/Kent

Post by reddebs »

I agree with all said so far.
I would also add that a full blown test is a harsh start on this challenge and would back away and introduce the Bond assessment paper books that can be purchased from bookshops or online. Also Bond do 10min test books that are great too.

I would start an age bracket down so 9/10 would be right if you are testing this year and work through in short bursts. Little and often is a definite on this subject. Once he has mastered a few of these go up an age level and do the same. Leave the full blown tests til later in the summer and then do (especially as Nfer (now GL) only released 4 of them!) again remembering to stick to the timing per section method.

Finally I have always considered that the questions start off really easy and get progressively harder through each section so I ask my students to aim for completing 3/4 of them and any over that is a bonus as they are the hard ones.
Another point - in recent years Kent have resectioned the NVR and it may not be 5 sections of 12 but for 4 sections of 15/18 etc so prepare your child for that too!
Pheww.... above all do not panic and good luck!
reddebs
fitnessfanatic
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Mar 25, 2009 9:39 pm

Post by fitnessfanatic »

Thank you everybody, some really interesting comments there!

I think I charged in in my usual bull in a china shop approach without doing any research :oops:

I am definitely going to get some of the Bond assessment papers, I actually looked at them in town yesterday and had put a note in my son's contact book asking what his teacher thinks.

I have been in touch with a tutor for him as well, (waiting for a call back to see if she has space) but not specifically for 11+ stuff, just to boost his confidence on a 1:1 and hopefully give him some structure to his studying. (having seen the result or a lack of structure with my almost 15 year old!)

It was reassuring to read that the NVR paper was meant to be hard as I must confess I tried it and it made my head hurt! :lol:
dizzyme
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Mar 27, 2009 1:38 pm

feeling stupid

Post by dizzyme »

Hi there,

Im very new to this. My daughter is in year 5 and I need to start tutoring her for her 11+.Im a stay at home mum and to save money I would like to start tutoring her myself. Do you have any tips on this and where I can get exercises etc etc from?

Sorry, I know this sounds really stupid.
medwaymum
Posts: 827
Joined: Sun Nov 04, 2007 6:45 pm
Location: Medway & Kent

Post by medwaymum »

Hello Dizzyme and welcome to the forum! As already stated Math, Verbal Reasoning and Non Verbal Reasoning are the important ones for the Kent test. Get yourself some Bond 10 minute tests in these (age 10-11) or if these too hard/alien, try the 9-10 yrs at first. The Bond How To Do...Verbal Reasoning etc are very good to work through.
Also, the download material on this site is great, you can buy eppapers or download math/verbal programs.
The Bond 10 min tests are prob a good one to start with as they are short bursts and not too much. :)
rosered100

Post by rosered100 »

I am new to this site but have used *** Advertising Censored ***.co.uk for the last year. their forums are very slow & not worth bothering with - mind you they are quite a new feature.
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