Did your child's practise scores rise over time?

[menagerie]

If so, by how much?

I'm just interested to know whether parents who've tutored their children for a year or so to prep for the exams have noticed a significant rise in scores once the child is familiarised with the tests? And is there a % average rise across the subjects? (Can I expect a rise of say 5-10% in scores over a year in all subjects if we look at them regularly?

Just trying to gauge which schools we should be aiming for.

Thanks.

[scary mum]

My DCs didn't do any practice test until they were very familiar with all the techniques- at least 7 months (maybe more) into their learning. But yes, after that their scores did increase, in spite of the tests getting progressively harder. It's hard to say by how much, partly because of the tests getting harder, but also because initially they didn't finish them, so increased speed was the big change by there was also a dip in scores a month or so before the tests

I would think you could expect at improvement of well over 10% in a year, if only due to practice makes perfect. You could also have a 10% difference between two consecutive tests!

[khanj010]

do you know what my ds was determine to do the vr test at the begining of year 5 thats when i started tutoring him. i just wanted to know which ereas he needed more help in as he had a idea of the techniques . i kept copys of those test and then taught him the techniques straight after. when 3 months were left for the test i gave him the same vr tests and compared them with the first tests he did at the begining. i was very surprised of the score he had got 30/80 at the begining and now 68-70 /80 so yes scores will rise as there vocab will get better and also there timing.

[menagerie]

That's interesting Khan. (Good to know!)

Scary - I teach the techniques by looking through papers then going over stuff they don't get right. I'm intrigued by how you teach them. Do you pull out a set of qus all with the same format and explain the work method to arrive at the failsafe answer? (Even just asking that makes me realise that would be a better method, as my DS is so speedy - most of his mistakes are slips not lack of understanding.)

[scary mum]

I was perhaps being a bit liberal with "we"! His tutor went through all the techniques with them week by week, I think grouping similar ones together and building up to the more difficult ones and then in about May/June time started on simpler (I think the IPS 50 question tests) tests which we did with them at the weekends, working our way through the different types of tests (Learning Labs, Susan Daughtry etc etc) until the tests in October. With all three DCs none of them could complete an 80 question test in the 50 minutes in June, but could do it fairly easily by October. We then pulled out the techniques they were having trouble with and practiced those in chunks. It was also useful to sit with them when they were doing a test and time each section. Not to try and make them do sections in a certain time, but to see where they might be getting bogged down. For example, my DS was very good at maths type questions but takes quite a long time to do them. We knew he could get 100% on them, but he needed to make sure he had time to do them as they are often late on in the paper. It was interesting to see that some sections took him 1 or 2 minutes, and others 7 or 8 minutes. Some of the technique books say they should take 30 seconds per question, but I think this is daft when the types of question are so difficult.

Hope that helps - I'm no expert, these are just the things I've learnt having 3 DCs go though it (this is Buckinghamshire where we only have VR, btw).

[mitasol]

In VR I didn't notice a significant increase in score in either of my children after the first few tests. The only proviso to the above is that I didn't time them until much later on, so perhaps if I had, there would have been a score difference due to speeding up.

[aargh]

DDs techniques was fine from the start because VR happens to suit the way she thinks and her vast vocabulary.
Practice helped by increasing her speed of working. On her first tests she was taking 10 mins longer than she should. By October she was finishing before the timer went off. On any task you will increase speed by practice.
She still ran out of time on the first actual test due to the nerves of the day. (still passed)

They should be doing and average of 1 question each 30 seconds or they won't finish. This is an average though, so some questions take less time and some more.

If a particular type of question is taking longer than it should, my DDs tutor says you should pass over them and do them last, guessing the multiple choice if you run out of time; because if you spend 3 times as long as you should on 10 questions, you will have missed out 20 others you could have answered easily. So you will score 10 instead of 20 (or maybe 25 if some of the guesses are right).

This is one of the iniquities of the VR test, it substitutes speed for intelligence when selecting our DCs.

[XCRGSMUM]

Not by much but then the early ones were not timed.

[portia123]

We spent a year before the 11plus preparing for the Kent test. Mainly math revision first and then bond papers, VR and NVR to complete in 50 minutes which he never did, and 20 minute mental maths tests which again took longer before starting on GL papers on all three topics from May this year till September. Ds never completed any of the papers in the time but what he did was accurate enough to always get about 70% pass. On the two days of tests again he did not complete any paper and forgot to guess the ones he left! He passed the Kent test but as we are is East Kent this was enough and his school books are at a high level that he will cope at Grammer. I spent the last year worrying that he was too slow at his papers but if the accuracy is there it should be enough.

[sargul]

My DD rised by about 10% for english and vr and 50% for maths which was a very weak area for her at the start! However it ended up being her stronger area lol! that was in a 8 month period! I would say the % rised within 5months with little more improvement except on her timing speeded right up which gave her like 5 to 10 minutes to check her work which brought the score up to and exceeding the mark she needed!

hope that helps