maybe this year was hard exam?

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shahinoor
Posts: 101
Joined: Thu Aug 19, 2010 4:00 pm

maybe this year was hard exam?

Post by shahinoor »

Any thoughts.. kids were complaining regarding maths and NVR particular.

The pass rates through different schools could come down?
DaddyOh
Posts: 110
Joined: Tue Oct 19, 2010 12:30 pm

Re: maybe this year was hard exam?

Post by DaddyOh »

Well the number passing this year are much the same as last year (it's designed to achieve that end) but if you are interested in the super-selectives it's not designed to give a consistent distribution in the extreme tails (i.e. Judd/Skinners scores).

That's almost certainly why last year although there was a drop in the overall pass rate the Judd score increased as there was an increase in the number of children scoring extremely high marks (I think the Headmaster says as much somewhere on the Judd website).

So it's possible that if the 'hard' questions this year were harder than normal the fat tail in the distribution might not be so fat (i.e. you may have the same number of passes but fewer 420's, 419's, 418's, ...). Unfortunately I think the only way to find that out for certain is to wait until the allocations in March.

I've heard a few comments about the maths being harder than usual but not enough to draw any realistic conclusions from it.
hermanmunster
Posts: 12817
Joined: Fri Sep 15, 2006 9:51 am
Location: The Seaside

Re: maybe this year was hard exam?

Post by hermanmunster »

As far as I can understand, regardless of what the exam is like, the top 21% of the children will be considered to have passed.
dadofkent
Posts: 515
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2008 2:05 pm

Re: maybe this year was hard exam?

Post by dadofkent »

hermanmunster wrote:As far as I can understand, regardless of what the exam is like, the top 21% of the children will be considered to have passed.
That is correct. But as DaddyOh has said, the test selects the top 21%, but the distribution can become, depending on the exam, and obviously candidates, a little less consistent at the 140 end of the scale.
hermanmunster
Posts: 12817
Joined: Fri Sep 15, 2006 9:51 am
Location: The Seaside

Re: maybe this year was hard exam?

Post by hermanmunster »

not sure that it makes any difference to the OPs question about pass rates, maybe will make a small difference to the lowest admission in some schools that use them to allocate places.
DaddyOh
Posts: 110
Joined: Tue Oct 19, 2010 12:30 pm

Re: maybe this year was hard exam?

Post by DaddyOh »

I think the OP's question 'pass rate through different schools' is about the mark required for entry to various schools rather than the overall number of passes (although it's not entirely clear), in which case you are concerned with the tails of a distinctly non-normal distribution which can vary greatly from year to year.

The number of passes is straight forward, as you mention, and doesn't vary significantly from year to year, 21% pass + 4% on HT appeal.
Muggle
Posts: 441
Joined: Thu Mar 05, 2009 10:24 pm

Re: maybe this year was hard exam?

Post by Muggle »

At DGGS last night, the Admissions Officer thought the cut off scores for admission may RISE this year. The pass mark per paper went up this year from 117 to 119.
dadofkent
Posts: 515
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2008 2:05 pm

Re: maybe this year was hard exam?

Post by dadofkent »

Muggle wrote:At DGGS last night, the Admissions Officer thought the cut off scores for admission may RISE this year. The pass mark per paper went up this year from 117 to 119.
The aggregate pass score is unchanged. The selected pass score for the individual exams is just a bit of tinkering at the edges, and has no real relevance on the number of high scores at the upper end of the range.
Muggle
Posts: 441
Joined: Thu Mar 05, 2009 10:24 pm

Re: maybe this year was hard exam?

Post by Muggle »

dadofkent wrote:
Muggle wrote:At DGGS last night, the Admissions Officer thought the cut off scores for admission may RISE this year. The pass mark per paper went up this year from 117 to 119.
The aggregate pass score is unchanged. The selected pass score for the individual exams is just a bit of tinkering at the edges, and has no real relevance on the number of high scores at the upper end of the range.
Yes, I image 'tinkering at the edges' was required to achieve the 21% pass rate. Possibly the increase in score was needed as the marks achieved were slightly higher this year ???????
Chocolatey Mum
Posts: 99
Joined: Thu Mar 10, 2011 3:49 pm

Re: maybe this year was hard exam?

Post by Chocolatey Mum »

My thought would be:

If the lowest Mark is raised that would/might mean that more children scored highly therefore meaning the test was easier.

Or

More tutoring means higher marks ... Not trying to worry you 2012 takers.


Just my thoughts for the melting pot.
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