11+exams thoughts on if they will go ahead this year

[thickasabrick]

Parents would need to book a slot at an online testing centre where there would be testing booths where the student would have to be alone and not with their parents.

And this would be different from testing in schools to what extent?

At least in schools you have many classrooms so you could potentially space children out a lot more. Test centres (the ones I've seen) are incredibly crammed places.

[Fabatnear40]

Quite honestly, any responsible tutor should either develop ways to teach virtually or cancel entirely.

Absolutely. Even 1-1 tuition is too much of a risk.

I agree. ..... [edited by moderator] It is too risky otherwise.

[Fabatnear40]

I’d also think most reputable tutors who teach in groups and mock exam providers are going to cancel lessons and planned mock exams. Certainly those mocks held by PTAs of schools won’t happen.

Any intensive courses for Easter and summer will likely go out of the window.

This might be the case for most students who have been preparing intensively until now, but for children who were late in their preparation, the added time has come as a lifeline. ..... [edited by moderator]

[Hopeful123***]

Surely given the fact that 11plus is supposed to be “non-tutored” it will go ahead? It’s different for GCSE’s And A levels but where 11 plus is concerned it’s widely known that they don’t like children being tutored so it makes no difference that children aren’t at school. All the children are in the same boat, if they’re going on natural ability there’s no reason to delay the test.

[KentMum5]

Kent's selection process already uses teacher assessment, I don't see why that can't be expanded? Each year 21% of pupils pass the test and get a grammar place, and a whopping 6% get places through head teacher assessment panels.

Though thinking about it, if my son was taking the test this year I'd probably just do his homeschool work for him, or give him loads of help. These panels look at recent school work to make a decision. Parental help with home schooling is clearly a route to good marks and a grammar place through the panels. So how can the head teacher panels work properly if they're judging work done at home not school? Some children just won't have helpful parents, and primary schools seem really inconsistent with the work they give, which will impact the panels results.

[monochromecat]

I imagine that they will use CATs tests and work done up until March 2020. The level will not be quite as high perhaps as usual when they would consider work done at the end of yr 5 but it will be consistent across all children and won't be affected by how much schooling they have had during lockdown. It doesn't look as if yr5 will be back any time soon and that will depend on the school so to do anything else would be unfair.

[Jean.Brodie]

Fairness in 11 plus selection and transfer matters; safety in secondary transfer matters even more.

We are close to some academics across the UK. They all expect the first 'normal' academic year now to be, at the earliest, 2021/22. Properly settled 'new normal' may not happen until 2022/23. ... And schools are generally more crowded than universities. Something to reflect on.

All approaches carry uncertainties and risks going forward. All solutions will demand compromises unpalatable to some.

Putting safety first for 11 plus selection, why not defer by a year and have both 11 plus and general secondary transfers and 12 plus selection and genaral secondary transfers together next year? Keep Year 6 pupils at primary with an amended Year 7 curriculum, supported by local secondary teachers. Keep Reception class pupils where they are, too. This has the advantage of pupils being looked after and managed by staff they know well and staff who know them well. Close, effective relationships can make it all work. Clearly the authorities, together with parents, will need to be smart and supportive.

In a year likely to be disrupted by repeated lock downs and relaxations and, God forbid, yet more sickness and death, let us be realistic and go forward pragmatically in baby steps. I repeat: all ways forward will need compromises.

I am sad for Year 6 and Year pupils. But I am saddest for those families who have lost loved ones in the most dreadful of circumstances. As a family, we are a long way from normal ourselves and are likely to have both Grandmas shielding for at least the rest of the year, one of them a live-in Grandma who is now stuck overseas and a long way from home, each with significant medical conditions as well. ... Our daughter has now finished all her Cambridge assessments and her Masters degree place is confirmed, but only in theory. She needs many specialist books available in senior academic libraries, not available on Amazon, and she can only be in traditional student accommodation. So she does not expect to go up to Cambridge again in late September as planned. She has also lost a major overseas Internship, vital to her future career. She, too, is learning to focus on what really matters and to be patient at this extraordinary time.

Whatever is done for 11 plus and general secondary transfers, I hope it is done safely and that families who need support receive it, including financially. It hurts me that too many families are desperate for earnings and will have to choose between medical safety and financial survival.

[Tinkers]

Putting safety first for 11 plus selection, why not defer by a year and have both 11 plus and general secondary transfers and 12 plus selection and genaral secondary transfers together next year? Keep Year 6 pupils at primary with an amended Year 7 curriculum, supported by local secondary teachers. Keep Reception class pupils where they are, too. This has the advantage of pupils being looked after and managed by staff they know well and staff who know them well. Close, effective relationships can make it all work. Clearly the authorities, together with parents, will need to be smart and supportive.

I’d guess most schools don’t have the spare room to keep them, or the extra teachers to teach them.

[kenyancowgirl]

Not to mention the knock on impact for parents, siblings, other school years, universities, finance (child benefit etc) - any change, however small (and the ones Jean Brodie is suggesting are not small at all) have a massive effect. The butterfly flapping its wings..

[hermanmunster]

. She needs many specialist books available in senior academic libraries, not available on Amazon, .

has she tried Abe Books?