Comments please - balance of mock test results.
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Comments please - balance of mock test results.
My DD was just below the pass mark in Sutton Mock tests, having got 90 in NVR, 68 in VR and 41 in maths (I think that's 304 standardised)! What was useful was this is exactly what she was expecting and has been concentrating on the VR since. We had always planned not to do the Wallington Girls test (as we live in a Borough that only allows 3 choices to put down 3 grammars might be disasterous!) but I'm wondering whether it might be useful to sit the test as practice for the Tiffin following also doing the Nonsuch. Clearly these current scores are not good enough for either grammar school (obviously not been so blunt with DD!). Toughie as she is doing very well at her local (and well rated) junior school.
Am I right in thinking that Wallington is verbal and maths, nonsuch NVR and VR and Tiffin NVR and VR?
In which case with her mock result being so poor in the maths (she's actually OK at school but struggled with the test for some reason - said she didn't complete so may well be just practice she needs but if we're not able to put WGS down perhaps this would waste good VR practice time?) and not so hot for VR (strange this as creative writing is her forte) What are everyones experiences on whether the mocks pick up particular weaknesses and therefore perhaps her doing the Wallington test actually might decrease confidence?
Sorry, lots of specifics there that you might find hard to sift out but if anyone can I'd be really grateful.
Am I right in thinking that Wallington is verbal and maths, nonsuch NVR and VR and Tiffin NVR and VR?
In which case with her mock result being so poor in the maths (she's actually OK at school but struggled with the test for some reason - said she didn't complete so may well be just practice she needs but if we're not able to put WGS down perhaps this would waste good VR practice time?) and not so hot for VR (strange this as creative writing is her forte) What are everyones experiences on whether the mocks pick up particular weaknesses and therefore perhaps her doing the Wallington test actually might decrease confidence?
Sorry, lots of specifics there that you might find hard to sift out but if anyone can I'd be really grateful.
Hi Santamad
I can only comment on a few of your points. Yes Tiffin is only VR and NVR. Not sure about the others.
For Tiffin I wouldn't worry about the maths, it's not relevant. DS got a low maths mark in the mock, he too didn't finish in time, got stuck on a difficult question and didn't move on. We have done no maths practice at home, relying on his very good school grades to get him through. If we decide to enter him for other exams requiring maths, I believe the maths would improve significantly with practice and exam technique. Presumably lots of the mock applicants have practised maths!
Your DD has good NVR score and the VR score would increase with specific practice of the 21 types (look for Patricia's thread for tips) - while being good at creative writing might help with vocabulary, it's specific techniques and practice she'll need for VR.
I'm really pleased we did the Sutton mock, it confirms what we knew and highlights things we hadn't thought of!
I can only comment on a few of your points. Yes Tiffin is only VR and NVR. Not sure about the others.
For Tiffin I wouldn't worry about the maths, it's not relevant. DS got a low maths mark in the mock, he too didn't finish in time, got stuck on a difficult question and didn't move on. We have done no maths practice at home, relying on his very good school grades to get him through. If we decide to enter him for other exams requiring maths, I believe the maths would improve significantly with practice and exam technique. Presumably lots of the mock applicants have practised maths!
Your DD has good NVR score and the VR score would increase with specific practice of the 21 types (look for Patricia's thread for tips) - while being good at creative writing might help with vocabulary, it's specific techniques and practice she'll need for VR.
I'm really pleased we did the Sutton mock, it confirms what we knew and highlights things we hadn't thought of!
Rosette
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SunlampVexesEel
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Re: Comments please - balance of mock test results.
Only my 2p worth...
VR needs some work. Looks like the standard to aim at is around 85+
As for the maths, this seemed to catch a few out and DS said it was harder than he expected.
e.g. Look at the scores for candidate 12079... 91 VR, 97 NVR and 48 Maths.
NVR score is good. If you rank according to the VR and NVR only there were candidates in the top 20 scoring no more than 90 in the NVR. However these candidates were also scoring 90+ in the VR.santamad wrote:got 90 in NVR, 68 in VR and 41 in maths
VR needs some work. Looks like the standard to aim at is around 85+
As for the maths, this seemed to catch a few out and DS said it was harder than he expected.
e.g. Look at the scores for candidate 12079... 91 VR, 97 NVR and 48 Maths.
Animis opibusque parati
Thanks Rosette and SVE for your comments. Both your 2p worth are very useful.
It was a surprise on the NVR to us, though not her - she says she's just logical - lets hope she can quickly learn to apply the logic to VR as well!
Maths scores do seem odd across the board with some very mixed results - I wonder what it was...fascinating...I'd love to see the paper myself! Just leaves me wondering about that WGS test.
I'm looking at purchasing VR in IPS, Bright Sparks, The Tutors and finally Walsh though my computer crashed with all that in my basket (must have been hacked into by the bank manager or more likely my husband!).
Meanwhile, I guess we need to maintain the good NVR score - phew, it's hard work and not just for her!
It was a surprise on the NVR to us, though not her - she says she's just logical - lets hope she can quickly learn to apply the logic to VR as well!
Maths scores do seem odd across the board with some very mixed results - I wonder what it was...fascinating...I'd love to see the paper myself! Just leaves me wondering about that WGS test.
I'm looking at purchasing VR in IPS, Bright Sparks, The Tutors and finally Walsh though my computer crashed with all that in my basket (must have been hacked into by the bank manager or more likely my husband!).
Meanwhile, I guess we need to maintain the good NVR score - phew, it's hard work and not just for her!
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SunlampVexesEel
- Posts: 1245
- Joined: Fri Jul 06, 2007 9:31 pm
DS didn't mention there were any new topics. But then again, he estimated his score at 90% even with missing out 2 questions (out of 17) and completely flunking one other question.It may have been a case of being asked topics which have not yet been covered at school. Some topics are not covered until the end of Yr6 and these tests of course are earlier than that!
So I'm not sure his comments can be relied upon.
It would be interesting to see the question paper!
It could be that many people are concentrating on VR and NVR and not doing any work on maths (like us) so just haven't got the timing and technique sorted out.
Rosette
