Bucks Appeal with low CATs score

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ambi
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Dec 03, 2012 1:06 pm

Bucks Appeal with low CATs score

Post by ambi »

Hi I am new to this forum and like to thank and congratulate all of you for the wealth of information available here to help with this stressful process.

My DD scored 107,117 Bucks 11+ respectively , is it worth appealing ? no strong academic evidence CATS scores low SAS 107 VR,Q 91,NVR 96. No extenuating circumstances.
currently level 4b English and 4b Maths , school willing to recommend with reservations. DD is very bright child in my opinion looses concentration and focus under exam conditions her yr5 report shows this in teachers comments in all subjects ,she is brighter than elder siblings who have already qualified for Grammar school places, hence the disappointment.
Is it worth the stress of an appeal? or shall we focus on 12+ instead.
Please advise.
Sally-Anne
Posts: 9235
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 8:10 pm
Location: Buckinghamshire

Re: Appeal with low CATs score

Post by Sally-Anne »

ambi wrote:My DD scored 107,117 Bucks 11+ respectively , is it worth appealing ? no strong academic evidence CATS scores low SAS 107 VR,Q 91,NVR 96.
The national average for CATs is 100, and in Bucks it would be nearer 110, so unfortunately those scores will not help with a review or appeal.

With only limited support from the school I am afraid you are very unlikely to be successful in overturning the result, and you would be best focussing your efforts on ensuring she makes good progress in an Upper School. You can then consider the 12+ in due course if it seems to be an appropriate route to go.
currently level 4b English and 4b Maths
Please do bear in mind that, to take the 12+, she will need Level 5s by the end of this year. The alternative would be an "appeal to test".
anotherdad
Posts: 1763
Joined: Mon Jan 24, 2011 5:33 pm

Re: Appeal with low CATs score

Post by anotherdad »

Only you can decide whether you wish to appeal but I'll relay my personal experience. My daughter had slightly higher 11+ scores (120, 115 I think), a strong HT recommendation and some minor extenuating circumstances but frankly, the academic evidence wasn't there. She had similar SATs levels to your daughter's and quite rightly, the appeal panel focussed on these and the predicted levels for end of year 6. They drew the conclusion that her 11+ scores were true to her academic ability, i.e. strong but not quite ready for a GS place. I don't regret appealing because it was an interesting process and actually reassured us that she was not quite ready for GS - we found the panel to be sympathetic and took their judgement as one from people more able to judge than us. I would get the school's honest appraisal and take it from there but you seem to be lacking academic evidence at the right level.

Your second question is also familiar. My daughter went on to exceed her Y6 SATs projections by quite some way and once she started at the US, she was comfortably in the upper sets for streamed subjects. We put her in for the 12+ and she sailed through with almost full marks and with no tuition. She moved to a GS and one term into Y8 she is in the top sets for streamed subjects and top of her class for some of them. It just shows that development can come later for some than others. The trouble with the 12+ is the postcode and places lottery. Only a few schools have places in Y8 (Chesham being the recent exception with loads of spaces this year) and you need to live close by to get those places.
capers123
Posts: 1865
Joined: Sun May 13, 2007 9:03 pm
Location: Gloucestershire

Re: Appeal with low CATs score

Post by capers123 »

Dear Ambi,

I often look at the mean CAT score as well as the individual scores. In your daughters case, that is 98, against the national average of 100. That puts your daughter bang slap in the middle range of abilities, and the SAT scores also point that way as well.

This isn't to say that your child is not lively, inquisitive, motivated, sparky or doesn't work hard in class.

However, I'd be inclined not to recommend the stress of going through the appeals system - as looking at those scores, the chance of success (at least for the schools I hear appeals for - not in Bucks) would be very, very slim.

Sorry if that sounds a little bleak.
Capers
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