New Mum - will he pass?

Eleven Plus (11+) in Kent

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new mum

Post by new mum »

I too am wondering if my son could pass. Recent school eleven plus style test?? scored NVR 118 VR 110 and maths not so good 95 am hoping he had a bad day as he is good at maths! He also has june birthday am hoping that will help. In kent so need approx 120 120 115 to pass. The tests were a surprise and have only just bought some practice papers which we have started looking at this week.(test in january)

Ayway would be interested in other school tests results compared to actual 11 plus results after practice as am not sure if he could pass or not.
new mum

Post by new mum »

Still would like a response on this if anyone can help.
Had a meeting at school last night and was told that they are not allowed to recommend that children take the eleven plus. However was told that if they got within 10 marks of each of last yrs 120 120 115 passes then they would be "on the right track" so now am even more confused do i go for it with 118 110 and 95 and take the maths as a bad day or not??
They did also say school will not be coaching at all and some of the maths required is not taught until last term of yr 6. As exams in jan means we have to fill in the gaps at home so maybe explains his low maths score?
Also someone asked how many from school passed last yr and was told 12 out of 24 and they prob would have recommended 18 of those to sit the exams.
yoyo123
Posts: 8099
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2007 3:32 pm
Location: East Kent

Post by yoyo123 »

Does your child want to go to teh grammar school?, If so I would say go for it.

The key is practiceand there is a definite technique to the questions.

You will find a lot of information on this site. The free downloads are brilliant and by reading the forum posts you will pick up a lot of useful tips.
Guest

Post by Guest »

I doubt that his previous maths results were affected by the fact that he has not covered all the 11+ content as presumably the school was using year 5 voluntary SATs rather than 11+ papers.

I suspect that the reason you are not getting much response on this forum is that most schools don't do reasoning tests or don't give parents standardised scores.

Instead of asking your son's school whether he should sit the Kent test could you ask whether they would appeal for him if he got a narrow fail? Our school will tell parents this, which is a pretty good indicator of whether they think they are suited to grammar school and should pass. Of course, the school may just be chickening out of telling parents anything in case it leads to ructions or one-upmanship at the school gates.

I'm not sure that it will help you much to find out how other children have done as you have no way of knowing whether or why those children under/over performed in any assessment. It would probably be more helpful to have your son assessed locally by a private 11+ tutor. Alternatively or in addition, get him to do one of the NFER practice papers. Mark it and then go through any questions he got wrong with him. Leave it a few days and then get him to re-sit the test (or another)and see if he does significantly better.

Do you have to choose schools by next month? If so, to be brutally honest I would use no more than one choice on the CAF for a grammar and consider the alternatives fully. A standardised score of 95 apparently puts you on the 37th percentile (i.e below average) whilst to pass the Kent test you are meant to be on the 75th percentile or above. Unless your son's results were really well out of line with his ability sending him to a grammar school would probably be a disaster for him as the pace and large teaching groups would probably not suit him. If he is a late bloomer then a move to grammar at 13+ or 16+ might be better.
katel
Posts: 960
Joined: Thu Jan 11, 2007 11:30 pm

Post by katel »

If I were you, I would get hold of some past papers, and get your son to do them at home. Try to keep it as low key as possible - but do time him. I suggest the first time you do it, tell him to work as fast as he can, finish the whole paper, but to mark where he gets to when the time runs out - if you see what I mean.
You won't be able to work out from this what score he would have got if it was the real thing, because the marking scheme is completly incomprehensible to mere parents, BUT it will give you some idea. My dd was getting 65-70% in maths at this stage and her school said she was borderline - she made it. It will also give you an idea of any areas of maths that he really doesn't know and you can do some work on.

Other questions to ask yourself. Does he really want to go to grammar school? Is he in the top sets? IS he the sort of person who would rather give it a go and fail - or the sort who would find this too demoralizing?
Sorry about going on - but I was in the same position last year, and I know how baffling it all is! What schools are you thinking about?
worried in Bexley

Post by worried in Bexley »

how long did it take to move dd's scores up from 65-70%? We are getting similar scores and are wondering if we do not have enough time to get the scores high enough for the Bexley tests in early November. There seems to be so much that the school hasn't yet taught. Also a teacher at my school actually advised me to get my daughter a tutor as only 2 passed last year at our school and they were both tutored. Aren't schools supposed to tell you not to get tutoring for the 11 plus?
Guest

Post by Guest »

Dear Worried in Bexley,
I think the original aim of the selection process was to admit children who are naturally gifted (I mean pupils that are able to pass the test without being tutored) to the Grammar schools. But quite alot of parents are tutoring their kids and this is pushing the cut-off marks up every year. I do it and I don't blame anyone else for doing it. If you are like me, and can't afford a private school then a little push would not hurt a child. Apart from the academic side of the Grammar schools, the pupils behave much better than alot pupils of non-selective, non-religious and non-private schools if you get what I mean. It's not too late to find a tutor for your child or spend some quality time with him/her practising nfer nelson papers. But try not to put too much pressure on the kid otherwise he/she would get frightened . Good luck!!!!!!!!!1
Guest

Post by Guest »

:arrow: :P :cry: I want to pass but I dont know if I will pass, how do i find out
Folkestone Mum

New Mum - Will he pass?

Post by Folkestone Mum »

My daughter took tests at the beginning of year 6 and her scores were VR 116 NVR 112 and Quantative or Maths 121. Her 11+ results were VR 140/140, NVR 140/140 and Maths 127/140. She got 5's in her SATs. Your son has got time to improve his scores with practice. :)
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