Test conditions at QMHS

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GreatBarrYumMum
Posts: 11
Joined: Mon Apr 20, 2015 4:48 pm

Test conditions at QMHS

Post by GreatBarrYumMum »

My daughter said that she took her test in the science block. And was sat directly opposite another child.. Any comments on children taking the test eyeball to eyeball.
Bob1892
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Joined: Sat Sep 14, 2013 10:14 am

Re: Test conditions at QMHS

Post by Bob1892 »

Never heard of that before but I wouldn't worry about it too much because of the time pressure you don't really have time to have your mind wandering ie eyeballing others unless one has a child who either has a tendency to daydream or if a dc has been pressurised to sit the test against their wishes which has been to known to happen.
muminbrum
Posts: 362
Joined: Mon Oct 22, 2012 12:14 pm

Re: Test conditions at QMHS

Post by muminbrum »

Lots of primary schools sit children round square tables eyeball to eyeball as you say, so most kids will be used to working like this. I'm sure the invigilator would have stepped in if there was anyone being disruptive. Given the numbers sitting the Walsall exam now I'm surprised they're not sitting on each other's knees :lol:
bluejay
Posts: 359
Joined: Mon Nov 03, 2014 3:28 pm

Re: Test conditions at QMHS

Post by bluejay »

muminbrum wrote:Given the numbers sitting the Walsall exam now I'm surprised they're not sitting on each other's knees
I couldn't agree more, the number of children sitting these exams now compared to just 4 years ago when our older DS took this exam is substantial.

If the results for the exam on Wednesday were sent to us before the King Edwards exam i would think there would be a significant drop in the number of children taking the exam especially those who definitely want Walsall, Wolverhampton etc....
It's something that i guess will be looked at eventually and reviewed, the process has changed considerably over the years. We had to wait until 1st March previously so you were putting schools down on your LEA form not knowing if you had the relevant score to even be considered.
ToadMum
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Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2012 12:41 pm
Location: Essex

Re: Test conditions at QMHS

Post by ToadMum »

How many children do take this particular exam? I'm just curious as to why it has to be so early? Our local Consortium writes its own papers and turns around 4000-odd sets of results in 3 and a half weeks (with over a hundred of those being from the reserve date ten days after the main sitting).
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx
Daogroupie
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Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Herts

Re: Test conditions at QMHS

Post by Daogroupie »

Any dc who had time to look around during the timings of this exam will have missed several questions! No time to look up or around, its heads down all the way.

The timings were just unbelieveable! DG
Turtlegirl
Posts: 521
Joined: Mon Mar 14, 2011 1:54 pm

Re: Test conditions at QMHS

Post by Turtlegirl »

I asked a chap on the carpark at QMGS (looked like a PE teacher to me) how many were taking the exam in the two sittings. He told me they had 1500. Add to that the girls chocablock in QMHS and those shipped out to Adams, it's approaching the scale of the KE consortium. It's certainly a lot - and many more than were taking it when my older boy took it just two years ago - they only just introduced a second sitting at QMGS in the last week or so that time round.
um
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Joined: Sat May 30, 2009 1:06 pm
Location: Birmingham

Re: Test conditions at QMHS

Post by um »

Children with special requirements have been moved to 13 July.
One parent was told that the schools did not have space to accommodate them in the main sitting.
I would be surprised if Walsall continue to have their exam in July next year. There had been talk of them joining the Bham consortium but this did not happen this year - although Warks obviously has joined up.
ToadMum
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Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2012 12:41 pm
Location: Essex

Re: Test conditions at QMHS

Post by ToadMum »

um wrote:Children with special requirements have been moved to 13 July.
One parent was told that the schools did not have space to accommodate them in the main sitting.
I would be surprised if Walsall continue to have their exam in July next year. There had been talk of them joining the Bham consortium but this did not happen this year - although Warks obviously has joined up.
If there is a sizeable overlap between the populations taking the exams in the various areas in the region, having the one exam would reduce the numbers taking the exams overall (because each child would only take one exam in one place so the total number of 'exam instances' would not be 'numbers currently taking test in Walsall area' plus 'numbers currently taking test in Warks' plus 'numbers currently taking test in Birmingham') whilst presumably having the same total number of test venues?
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx
quasimodo
Posts: 3854
Joined: Sun Sep 07, 2014 2:47 pm

Re: Test conditions at QMHS

Post by quasimodo »

ToadMum wrote:
um wrote:Children with special requirements have been moved to 13 July.
One parent was told that the schools did not have space to accommodate them in the main sitting.
I would be surprised if Walsall continue to have their exam in July next year. There had been talk of them joining the Bham consortium but this did not happen this year - although Warks obviously has joined up.
Last year children with special requirements also sat the exam at QMHS two weeks later.We were told last year by the Admissions officer they didn't have the appropriate numbers of staff for proper supervision to do everyone's test on the same day.The arrangements at the other schools in the consortium could have been different.

In the KE exam the exam at KE Handsworth was on the same day we don't know the arrangements in the other schools.
In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.

Abraham Lincoln
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