CEM practice, making my bright child think she is stupid!

[Tinkus-Pinkus]

Hi All,

I wonder... Is anyone else having issues with their bright as a button children thinking that they are stupid because the timing is so pressured for the CEM exam? I have been practising speeding up with my DD. I have explained to her that the exam is designed to make it impossible to finish, and that part of the point is to weed out the children who panic under pressure, but because she is used to scoring very high scores, doing CEM style work is leaving her feeling like she is just not making the mark.

I hate this business, will be delighted when it is over.

[Sanna]

Yes!

We've been doing the same - spending a lot of time explaining that we do expect he won't finish the sections, perhaps by a long way, that he will find it hard, and that that's al totally normal and he can still be doing really well.

In some ways it feels bizarre having no good idea of how your child is likely to do on these tests, since we don't know these tests. But in some ways I find it reassuring since I so believe that having a more unknown test is GOOD! It leaves it much more down to the intelligence of the child.. I hope!!!

[loopymum64]

You have made me feel much better. We have really been struggling to finish sections with the time pressure and don't want to completely stress my DD out before the test. Hate not knowing what we need to do for her to have a good chance of qualifying.

[Tinkus-Pinkus]

Thank you all for your kind reassurance. We are just staying calm now for the next week. Doing enjoyable stuff and the odd bit of vocab. DD's confidence is as high as I think it can be and I don't want to damage it with any other tests. The last one we did was the Bexley CEM Preparation paper, she got 78% which I think is pretty good for such a hard test (I am a proud Mum regardless of the 11 plus result. So here is crossing fingers and letting what will be, be from here on in.
I did a bit of damage limitation preparation, last week, by introducing DD to a really lovely girl that goes to the local Comp, who failed her 11 plus but is now on the Gifted and Talented register for various subjects and doing really well so DD is now happy that the alternative school although not her first choice is still a good one, and that she will do well wherever she goes. I just keep repeating to her that the 11 plus is not about passing or failing, or about being clever or not, just about finding out what type of teaching will best suit a child. It may be best to be the top of the heap in a school with a wide variation of abilities, rather than sitting somewhere in the middle and wanting to be top. We are lucky our alternative school is Lord Williams which is a really good comp where the brighter kids do well. I know that my DD would be better suited to the High and so does she but, it will be their loss if they don't get her.

[mystery]

Those cgp cem books sound fiendish if that is what you are referring to. I presume they have written them to go as hard as they guess the most superselective school using cem might go.

78 in the bexley prep paper sounds super. Good luck.