What is a good score in past papers?

[vasu]

My DS gets at an average, 90% on his past papers. What would be a good score? For example he did Athey's Verbal reasoning paper and got 94%. Is it a good enough score? How do you estimate if you child's score is promising?

[Daogroupie]

Is this score in the time allocated? If so it is very good and a great start. Which schools are you going for? DG

[daofan]

Which pack of athey vr papers did you use Vasu? Pack 1,2 or 3

[vasu]

Is this score in the time allocated? If so it is very good and a great start. Which schools are you going for? DG

It was a 50mins test and he completed it in 40 mins. We are looking for schools with no catchment restrictions like QE Boys, HABS, Tiffins etc. Unfortunately we live in Harrow which no grammar schools hence the predicament. I would appreciate if you could suggest some schools. Thank you.

[vasu]

Which pack of athey vr papers did you use Vasu? Pack 1,2 or 3

To be honest, I dont which pack it came from, as they were hand me down from a friend whoes son gave the 11+ exams last year. It says Paper 6 on it, if that helps.
My Ds has a tutor and we should be just sitting back and not freaking out about his exam prep....but I am all wound up. I know I am sounding pushy but I want to be in the loop as to where my son stands. How do you know whether your child is ready?

[Daogroupie]

QE Boys, Tiffins and Clement Danes have no catchment areas. Dont leave it all to the tutor. I know lots of parents who did just that and missed out on selective places this year. They are only helping your dc because you are paying them to do it. You are the only person who cares enough. Sign up for the sutton mocks and the mark you get there will give you a good idea of where you have got to. Keep at it, little and often. DG

[vasu]

QE Boys, Tiffins and Clement Danes have no catchment areas. Dont leave it all to the tutor. I know lots of parents who did just that and missed out on selective places this year. They are only helping your dc because you are paying them to do it. You are the only person who cares enough. Sign up for the sutton mocks and the mark you get there will give you a good idea of where you have got to. Keep at it, little and often. DG

Thanks DG. I actively follow all your posts. I and my hubby are very proactive with our DS' s 11+ preparations. As they say, if you want to get something done, do it yourself. I will take your advice about the mock test.
But still my question stands, what is a good score? My ds has been finishing most of his past papers with 5 mins to spare. Not gloating . But then speed means less accuracy, his silly mistakes just drives me up the wall. And most of the marks are lost because of this. How do I get him to pace himself and be a bit more careful?

[daofan]

You are very lucky that he is scoring such good marks. Keep it up.
I would also be interested in hearing from people whose child obtained a place in the selective schools this year, as to what mark they were getting at this stage. When did they start timing the papers and how much prep is a good amount.

[Daogroupie]

I think now he has the speed you can afford to slow down and concentrate on reading the question properly. The mark is good enough, now focus on using up all the timing. I would also say its time to start focusing more on the English. Timing is the most critical thing there, so many candidates lose it by writing too much and not finishing their story. There comes a point with VR when more does not get you any more marks. In hindsight I think we probably did too much VR but it was great for confidence. Both dd's went in knowing that they would get a good enough mark to at least get the English and Maths papers marked and we know people on top tables in English and Maths who did all that work and nobody ever marked them. Very sad and a huge effort for nothing DG