Mock tests - Are they worth it?

[maxhead]

My DS has recently sat a number of Mock tests with two providers.

The first provider supplied my DS#s ranking along with the full test on-line.

The second provider provided a cryptic summary of the questions he got wrong and may have supplied the marks for a different child in the Maths test he sat last Sunday.

Neither Supplier has responded properly to email requests for further information.

The second provider is listed as recommended on this site.

Why don't they respond to email voice and text messages.

[First-timer]

Sorry to hear you've been let down. Any chance you could PM me the names of the providers?

I think mock tests are a good idea. DC get used to doing work on one subject at a time and it's useful to give them the experience of say, three different subjects back to back just like the real exam. It's an exercise in stamina as much as anything else. Gets them in the habit of taking a loo break at the prescribed time too!

I did my own mocks with DS and that was fine. A more nervous child may benefit much more from a larger scale mock with other children and distractions in the room. For my DD I am considering going to the mock/familiarisation tests run by one of the (Essex) consortium schools. Has anyone had any experience of this? Was it worth doing?

Maxhead, what was your DC's reaction to the mocks? Do you think they have helped in any way? Hopefully you'll get the Maths issue sorted. Call/email saying you want to make a booking. They might be more likely to respond if they think there's money in it!

[lara228]

DS did mock tests at beginning of October. I explained beforehand that in many ways it was unrealistic as it covered 4 subjects in one afternoon and the schools he is trying for do a maximum of 2 per session, however, the real benefit was sitting in a large hall with other children coughing, dropping pencils, sniffing, scraping chairs on the floor etc, etc - all of which he had never experienced before. Regardless of the test results, having DS come out of them saying that he was really pleased to have had the experience and understood why I had been going on about not being distracted was worth the cost etc.

[ican'tbelieveit]

The 2 mocks my son sat (3 months apart) in Trafford were definitely worth it - a real wake-up call. The feedback was limited but useful. The experience, however, was invaluable and certainly took the edge off the intimidating nature of the entrance exams in our area.

[Muggle]

DD sat a mock exam in the summer holidays (our 11+ was in September). I think it was fairly useful, just to get used going to a new location and writing more than one paper in one sitting. The result gave DD a big confidence boost and helped us relax and realise that she was on the right track.

[maxhead]

Since my original post I received a voice mail from the owner of Redbridge Tuition Group that the Maths results were for my son and that she could not supply me with the questions DS got wrong due to copyright issues. I was not provided with a ranking.

My view is that if we can't check the veracity of the tests provided we should avoid them.
A ranking is essential (by sex would be useful in my case) and the questions incorrectly answered need to be given.

There is no doubt that the Mock Tests helped settle nerves and I will do them for my youngest
in a few years but will not use a supplier whose primary business is selling tution services.

[Muggle]

The mock DD sat was run by RTG. The organiser couldn't provide copies of the test (for copyright reasons, as you mention), but arranged a time, a few days after the test, for parents and children to view the marked papers. We, and several other parents, attended to view the paper and go through the questions DD had answered incorrectly. The organiser was also present to answer any questions.

I found it helpful and was impressed with the speed they marked the papers, we had the result by email within 24 hours.

[lara228]

Don't really understand the copyright issue if they set the questions themselves- if they own the question sheets they can do what they want with them, and even if they buy the questions in, they can include conditions in their contract with suppliers that allow the sheets to be passed on to the children sitting the test for personal use. My DS sat a series of mocks and we were provided with all the questions, answers, his original answer sheet plus additional (paid for) feedback on any problem areas. Scores were provided as 'raw' and 'standardised'.

[mystery]

The "copyright" issue does sound strange - if they had permission to use the questions in the test why not to show them afterwards to the parents? It suggests that they did not have permission to use them in the mock test?

[lara228]

Mystery, you wrote what I was thinking! My DS did a summer school and it was obvious that the work they were given was photocopied without permission - which put me in a difficult position as I work for publishers and know just how little authors earn in copyright fees - they're not all JK Rowlings, in fact, most count their income in pennies, not even pounds!