significant physical issue in exam

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mattsurf
Posts: 230
Joined: Mon Apr 28, 2008 11:44 am

significant physical issue in exam

Post by mattsurf »

I have sent a mail to the confidential appeals box. The background is that my DD sat her 11+ on Saturday. In the middle of the examination she had a significant physical complication that affected her emotionally and Physically, however, due to the nature of the issue (which is clear when you read my email) she was unable to tell the staff. It had a major impact on her performance. I am looking at what I should do next.
Etienne
Posts: 8978
Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 6:26 pm

Re: significant physical issue in exam

Post by Etienne »

Thanks for your message, mattsurf.

You do have extenuating circumstances, and are very wise to have notified the school/admission authority as soon as reasonably possible.

You now need to assemble as much evidence of high academic ability as you can.
See:
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeal ... cation#b11" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
"The basis of an appeal against non-qualification should be the strength of the alternative academic evidence. You might win an appeal with strong academic evidence but no extenuating circumstances. You cannot win an appeal with extenuating circumstances but insufficient academic evidence."
Secondly, bearing in mind that the school may well be oversubscribed, you ought to give some thought to reasons for wanting or needing a place.
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeal ... -school#c2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Etienne
mattsurf
Posts: 230
Joined: Mon Apr 28, 2008 11:44 am

Re: significant physical issue in exam

Post by mattsurf »

Etienne, thanks for your response.

We notified the School on the day of the exam, and delivered a letter on Monday. We did ask about the possibility of attending the second sitting of the 11+, but this was refused, I assume because they do the same test, however, I thought that it was important that we requested this when if it comes to appeal

Due to the circumstances, my Daughter left out a section in English, if I ask for the paper to be marked by hand, and it is obvious that a section has been missed, would the pannel ever consider taking the percentage out of questions completed?

At what point should I ask for the paper to be marked by hand, after the results are published or after she is not given a place?

Given that I will need the school's support, would working at level 5B or 5C be sufficient or does she need to be working at level 5A or Level 6 to impress the pannel
mattsurf
Posts: 230
Joined: Mon Apr 28, 2008 11:44 am

Re: significant physical issue in exam

Post by mattsurf »

Hello Etienne

11+ results came through today and DD missed by 1 mark, which under the circumstances, outlined in my mail to the private box 2 weeks ago, came as a real surprise that it was so close.... and makes it even more frustrating.

The lowest score was in English, which we expected given the circumstances. I have already checked with the school and they provided the raw score and confirmed that she missed the entire spelling section - if she had achieved the same result in this section as in the rest of the paper, she would have been 7 marks above the pass mark.... if she had guessed all 8 questions and got 1 right she would have achieved the pass mark

I believe that we have a strong case to appeal. Based on what happened and the missed section, what do you think?

My question is, how do we handle the section that she missed - would an appeals pannel look at the evidence and the situation and agree to base the mark on questions answered

DD is doing mock SATs this week, if she does well in these, will they be taken into consideration?
Etienne
Posts: 8978
Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 6:26 pm

Re: significant physical issue in exam

Post by Etienne »

Sorry, mattsurf - your earlier post seems to have been overlooked, but I hope I cover everything below.
mattsurf wrote:At what point should I ask for the paper to be marked by hand, after the results are published or after she is not given a place?
It depends what the local arrangements are (if any). In Essex, for example, there's no guarantee of a re-mark. In Bucks, parents are told they must submit a request within 3 weeks of the publication of results. In Glos., there's an automatic re-mark for those who go to appeal.
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeal ... cation#b55" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Given that I will need the school's support, would working at level 5B or 5C be sufficient or does she need to be working at level 5A or Level 6 to impress the pannel
It's up to your particular panel, and depends on local 'expectations'. If the school is 'superselective' or heavily oversubscribed, the more likely it is that the panel might prefer to see very high levels.
I believe that we have a strong case to appeal. Based on what happened and the missed section, what do you think?
Appeals are unpredictable, so I always hesitate to say.
Based on what you've told us, I certainly think it's worth an appeal to see what happens.
My question is, how do we handle the section that she missed - would an appeals pannel look at the evidence and the situation and agree to base the mark on questions answered
I doubt they would do that on their own initiative - but if you were to point it out to them, they would then consider it.
DD is doing mock SATs this week, if she does well in these, will they be taken into consideration?
Yes, they should be - if you provide written evidence for the appeal.
Etienne
mattsurf
Posts: 230
Joined: Mon Apr 28, 2008 11:44 am

Re: significant physical issue in exam

Post by mattsurf »

I spoke to the DD's school, Currently she is at 5B with a target of level 6 in Maths and English. The School will be happy to confirm in writing. They have also said that they will provide a very strong character reference, and show that she has progressed from Level 3a at the start of year 5 to Level 5b a year later.

When you talk about "very high levels" are SATS sufficient. As far as I am aware there are no CAT score here, is this something I need to do independently?
Etienne
Posts: 8978
Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 6:26 pm

Re: significant physical issue in exam

Post by Etienne »

I spoke to the DD's school, Currently she is at 5B with a target of level 6 in Maths and English. The School will be happy to confirm in writing.
That sounds fine.
They have also said that they will provide a very strong character reference,
Not usually relevant!
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeal ... cation#b48" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
and show that she has progressed from Level 3a at the start of year 5 to Level 5b a year later.
That would need explaining - level 3 is what one might expect of a pupil with grammar school potential at the end of Year 2.
When you talk about "very high levels" are SATS sufficient.
Again, it depends on your particular appeal panel - but usually, the more evidence of high ability, the better!
As far as I am aware there are no CAT score here, is this something I need to do independently?
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appeal ... cation#b39" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Etienne
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