Who sets the King Edward Grammar school tests for Birmingham
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Marg
Who sets the King Edward Grammar school tests for Birmingham
I would like to know who sets the 11 plus papers for the Grammer schools in Birmingham & what the pass rate is?
My son is sitting the exam in this Nov.We are using the NFER & BOND papers though he finds Bond easier.
Thanks!
My son is sitting the exam in this Nov.We are using the NFER & BOND papers though he finds Bond easier.
Thanks!
King Edwards B/Ham 11+
The tests are set by the University of Durham Curriculum, Evaluation & Management Centre.
There is quite a bit of information about this and the test format in some of the other forum threads. See King Edwards Birmingham and KE Birmingham Exams below:
There are no test papers available, they are significantly different to the NFER and Bond papers in many respects. Particularly the VR papers.
I would recommend trying a variety of papers, including many of the e-papers available on this site. There are rumours about a slight change of format for 2007 entry - again see some of the postings on this site.
There is also some information about the norminal pass marks - although of course the scores are standardised. The standardised pass mark varies from School to School in the Foundation and from year to year - Camp Hill Boys usually being the highest - this year it was 341 (cummulative standardised score of 3 sections). This is dependent on the numbers putting the respective schools 1st on the LEA list. See some of the threads on Standardisation and raw scores.
A wise move to start now, make sure you keep it going through the summer holidays as well - the exam is in Nov which is quite early. We found that you have to keep them at least ticking over in the summer holidays.
Best of luck.
There is quite a bit of information about this and the test format in some of the other forum threads. See King Edwards Birmingham and KE Birmingham Exams below:
There are no test papers available, they are significantly different to the NFER and Bond papers in many respects. Particularly the VR papers.
I would recommend trying a variety of papers, including many of the e-papers available on this site. There are rumours about a slight change of format for 2007 entry - again see some of the postings on this site.
There is also some information about the norminal pass marks - although of course the scores are standardised. The standardised pass mark varies from School to School in the Foundation and from year to year - Camp Hill Boys usually being the highest - this year it was 341 (cummulative standardised score of 3 sections). This is dependent on the numbers putting the respective schools 1st on the LEA list. See some of the threads on Standardisation and raw scores.
A wise move to start now, make sure you keep it going through the summer holidays as well - the exam is in Nov which is quite early. We found that you have to keep them at least ticking over in the summer holidays.
Best of luck.
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KEMum
Hi Marg!
We used the Bond books to prepare my daughter - we sort of went through the series, starting at 9 - 10. However, she didn't finish the 9 - 10, but went on to the next age group and eventually the 11+ ones. We used the English, Maths, VR and NVR.
The problem with the tests for KE in Brum is that they don't publish any practise tests. I took the view that they can only test certain things anyway - they aren't going to start looking at history, for example. After the summer we started to use the NFER test papers - but not any earlier than this because they are quite hard and I didn't want to worry her.
We only used these two sets of tests, so it must be sufficient.
We used the Bond books to prepare my daughter - we sort of went through the series, starting at 9 - 10. However, she didn't finish the 9 - 10, but went on to the next age group and eventually the 11+ ones. We used the English, Maths, VR and NVR.
The problem with the tests for KE in Brum is that they don't publish any practise tests. I took the view that they can only test certain things anyway - they aren't going to start looking at history, for example. After the summer we started to use the NFER test papers - but not any earlier than this because they are quite hard and I didn't want to worry her.
We only used these two sets of tests, so it must be sufficient.
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marg
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KEMum
I always found that my daughter panicked if she thought I was timing her and then went so fast that she kept getting everything wrong, which then led to her feeling she wasn't very good at the tests. It is also a bit pressured, don't you think?
We got round this by doing the tests with her as a race. She is very competitive so this method suited her. She was also better at NVR and VR than me so she could beat me, particularly at VR. I have to say I cheated a bit with the maths and let her beat me so as not to demoralise her. Anyway, she used to go like crazy to beat me and I think it speeded her up no end. However, I didn't do this until October/November. Up until that time, we just did papers and marked them with no particular worry about time.
Good luck! (which school are you interested in, by the way?)
We got round this by doing the tests with her as a race. She is very competitive so this method suited her. She was also better at NVR and VR than me so she could beat me, particularly at VR. I have to say I cheated a bit with the maths and let her beat me so as not to demoralise her. Anyway, she used to go like crazy to beat me and I think it speeded her up no end. However, I didn't do this until October/November. Up until that time, we just did papers and marked them with no particular worry about time.
Good luck! (which school are you interested in, by the way?)
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marg
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KEMum
Yes they do take it away - they read it first thing and then have to answer questions last thing - ie after doing the rest of the test and having a break in the middle. We didn't have to do an awful lot of work on this because our daughter seems to be able to remember everything anyway, but we used to read passages to her at night before bed. We used to ask her questions about it the next morning!! Try passages with lots of detail like figures and stuff in it. It is very difficult to know how to practise for this part of the exam and it also assumes your child has a really good understanding of the passage he/she has just read - probably why they put it in!
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Sham
For KenR or KEMum
Hi KenR or KEMum
I am new to this site but wish that I had discovered it earlier. I have read some of your threads and found some very usefull information. Congratulation on your success, your children seem exceptionally gifted. I think kind people like yourselves are an admiration to others and I wish that more people would give advice, help others and share their knowledge and experience on this site.
I am extremely worried about the KE tests, especially the comprehension. My son has been having private tuition for 12 months and is due to sit the test in November but I do not feel that he is at all prepared. He attends Eps tutorial and has been to intense summer classes working on NV tests only. I feel that he hasnt recieved the adequate tuition and hasnt worked on any comprehension, ie Reading and essay writing. However, I spoke to the tutor who seems to think that he is progressing well.
At present, we are working on all the bond assessment papers at home, but eventhough he has been scoring the highest in the NV tests at tuition, I sometimes feel that he lacks the required skills in english and comprehension. I work full time and long shifts and find it extremely exhausting trying to help him revise.
I am especially worried about the comprehension test for KE as KEMum wrote in a previous thread about how the passage from the comprehension paper is read by the child and then the it is removed. Is it true that they have to answer the questions after the first paper is completed? I would really appreciate some advice. If this is all true then I think my son may get into problems with this section. Is the comprehension section multiple choice aswell? Do you think the Bond and NFER papers are sufficient for revision? I am thinking of finding another tutor aswell as EPS so that he can be better prepared, what do you think? Do you think it is too late to start reading poems and heavy books? Is it too late to start practising essays for the KE grammar test.
Any advice or suggestions would be very appreciated.
My email; shamin333@hotmail.co.uk
Kind Regards
Sham x
I am new to this site but wish that I had discovered it earlier. I have read some of your threads and found some very usefull information. Congratulation on your success, your children seem exceptionally gifted. I think kind people like yourselves are an admiration to others and I wish that more people would give advice, help others and share their knowledge and experience on this site.
I am extremely worried about the KE tests, especially the comprehension. My son has been having private tuition for 12 months and is due to sit the test in November but I do not feel that he is at all prepared. He attends Eps tutorial and has been to intense summer classes working on NV tests only. I feel that he hasnt recieved the adequate tuition and hasnt worked on any comprehension, ie Reading and essay writing. However, I spoke to the tutor who seems to think that he is progressing well.
At present, we are working on all the bond assessment papers at home, but eventhough he has been scoring the highest in the NV tests at tuition, I sometimes feel that he lacks the required skills in english and comprehension. I work full time and long shifts and find it extremely exhausting trying to help him revise.
I am especially worried about the comprehension test for KE as KEMum wrote in a previous thread about how the passage from the comprehension paper is read by the child and then the it is removed. Is it true that they have to answer the questions after the first paper is completed? I would really appreciate some advice. If this is all true then I think my son may get into problems with this section. Is the comprehension section multiple choice aswell? Do you think the Bond and NFER papers are sufficient for revision? I am thinking of finding another tutor aswell as EPS so that he can be better prepared, what do you think? Do you think it is too late to start reading poems and heavy books? Is it too late to start practising essays for the KE grammar test.
Any advice or suggestions would be very appreciated.
My email; shamin333@hotmail.co.uk
Kind Regards
Sham x
Hallo Sham
It is never too late to try. Keep on going. I am no expert on your area, but.......there is only so much non verbal you can do. Maybe start to lay off that for a bit and start focussing on the English. If your tutor cannot (will not) do it, then you still have a few weeks left of your summer holidays to try yourself. You said you worked - what about making a plan for the days you are off? Bit rough for the rest of your family, but it is only for a short period of time and will be worth it. Work out what needs to be covered and stick to your timetable. Read to him each night and then have a list of questions to ask the next day. Start easy (a story he knows) and build up his confidence, but try to do something every day. Look on the English section here - I am sure there are some good books you can buy to assist you.
Good luck - you can do it!
USA
It is never too late to try. Keep on going. I am no expert on your area, but.......there is only so much non verbal you can do. Maybe start to lay off that for a bit and start focussing on the English. If your tutor cannot (will not) do it, then you still have a few weeks left of your summer holidays to try yourself. You said you worked - what about making a plan for the days you are off? Bit rough for the rest of your family, but it is only for a short period of time and will be worth it. Work out what needs to be covered and stick to your timetable. Read to him each night and then have a list of questions to ask the next day. Start easy (a story he knows) and build up his confidence, but try to do something every day. Look on the English section here - I am sure there are some good books you can buy to assist you.
Good luck - you can do it!
USA
