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QUESTIONSABOUTTHENEW11+TESTS

1. Whydotherehavetobetests?BuckinghamshireisaselectiveauthorityforsecondaryschooladmissionsandtheDepartment

forEducation(DfE)determinedthatthegrammarschoolsshouldretaintheirselectivestatus

whenthey

became

academies.

As

aresult

there

has

to

be

an

objective

and

independent

way

of

determiningwhichchildrenareadmittedtothegrammarschoolsintheCounty.Externallyset

testsarethereforeawayofensuringthattheadmissionssystemisasfairaspossibleforall

pupils.

2. Howmanytestswilltherebe?Therewillbetwotests,bothofwhichwillbedividedintothreeseparatelytimedsections

coveringthethreetypesofquestion:verbal,numericalandnonverbal.Insomewaysthiscanbe

seenasonetesttakenintwoparts.Thisbasicstructurewillbethesameeachyear,althoughof

coursenewtestswillbedevelopedforeachyear.

3. Howlongwilleachtesttake?Eachtestwilltakeabout4550minutessothatitcanbetakenwithinanormallessontime.

4. Whyarethesetestsdifferentfromthecurrenttests?Therehasbeenagreatdealofresearchinternationallyandformanydecadesaboutthenature

ofchildrensabilitiesandhowbesttomeasurethem.Thenewtestsreflectmodernresearchinto

thenatureofabilityandthequitewidelyheldviewthatpeoplehavemultipleabilities.Itis

thereforeappropriatetotestpupilsabilitytothinkinarangeofdifferentcontexts.

5. Whatdothetestsassess?Thetestsaretestsofability:theyassessverbalability,numericalabilityandnonverbalability.

Thisenableschildrentodemonstratetheirabilitiesinarangeofcontextsandnotjustverballyas

withthe

current

tests.

6. Whoisprovidingthetests?Thetestproviderwasselectedafterafulltenderingprocessundertakenbythegrammar

schools.ThesuccessfultendererisCEM:TheCentreforEvaluationandMonitoringatDurham

University.CEMhasalongandsuccessfultrackrecordofdevelopingtestsforuseinselection

(forbothindependentandstateschools)andformonitoringandanalysingpupilprogress

(mainlyinsecondaryschools).

7. Whenwillthetestsbetaken?ThetestswillbetakeninSeptember.Thedesignatedtestdateis12September.Thistimetableis

necessarytocomplywiththerequirementofthegovernmentthatpupilsshouldknowthe

outcomesof

selective

assessments

before

finalising

their

secondary

school

preferences

at

the

endofOctober.

8. Willthetestsbeonseparatedays?Bothtestswillbetakenonthesamedaywithagapoftimebetweenthemofabout3040

minutes.Anumberofadministrativedetailsabouttimingonthetestdatehavenotyetbeen

finalised.CEMsadviceandexperienceisthatthisisbothfeasiblewithinaprimaryschool

timetableanddesirableintermsofreducingthestressonthechildren.Theywill,afterall,be

takingmorethanoneSATtestonthesamedaytowardstheendofYear6.

9. Howwillthetestsbemarked?Thetestswillbemachinemarked.Thetestswillbeinamultiplechoiceformatandthepupils

willcompletemachinereadableanswersheets.

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10.Whatallowanceswillbemadeforpupilswithspecialneeds?DetailsoftheseallowanceshavestilltobeagreedwithCountyofficersbut,forexample,there

willbetheopportunityforpupilstobegivenupto25%extratime,whichisastandard

allowanceforsomepupilswithspecialneeds,andlargeprintversionswillbeavailable.

11.Whatwillthequalifyingorpassmarkbe?The11+testsdonothaveapassmark.Thereisaqualifyingscoreforadmissiontogrammar

schoolandthatwillremainatanagestandardisedscoreof121.Eachpupilwillhaveasingle

standardisedscorearrivedatbyaggregatingtheirperformanceacrossallsixsectionsofthetwo

tests.(NB:apupilsscorewillnotbeanaverageoftheirscoresonthetests,itwillbeatotal.)

12.Willpupilsbeabletopractiseforthetests?Yes.First,theywillbegivenaleafletfamiliarisingthemwiththetestingprocedure,givingthem

sometesttakingadviceandgivingthemafewexamplequestions.Theywillbeabletotakethis

home.Then,beforetakingthetestson10September thepupilswillbegiventwopreparation

paperseachlastingabout2530minutescontainingtestitemsthatmirrorwhattheywillfindin

thefull

tests.

The

purpose

of

this

exercise

is

to

give

the

pupils

experience

of

test

taking

conditionsaswellasgivingthemtheopportunitytoworkthroughexampletestmaterial.The

preparationpaperswillnotbemarkedortakenawayfromtheschool.Itisnotthepurposeof

thepreparationteststoseehowmanyquestionstheygetrightbuttohelpthemtoprepare

themselvesforthetests.

13.Whycantparentsseethepreparationpapers?CEMdoesnotpublishanypracticebooksofitstypesoftestsanditwantscirculationoftest

materialstobekepttoaminimumsoastomaintaintheintegrityandfairnessofitstests.

14.Howcanparentsbesthelptheirchildrentoprepareforthetests?Thereareanumberofthingsthatparentscandotohelptheirchildren.Theycanensurethat

theyhave

experience

of

working

quietly

on

their

own,

uninterrupted

by

noise

or

distractions.

Theycanensurethattheydoanyhomeworkthatisset.Theycanhelptheirchildrentoreadwith

understanding,forexamplebyaskingthemwhatcertainwordsmeanandwhatishappeningin

thepassageorbookthattheyarereading.Theycanencouragethemtosolveproblemsby

themselvesortolookupthingsforthemselves.

15.Howdoyouknowthesenewtestsaregoingtowork?Itisnormalpracticeindevelopingtestsofthissorttotrialmaterialthoroughly.Preliminarytrials

havebeenconductedbyCEMinarangeofschoolsoutsideBuckinghamshireandwithpupilsof

theappropriateage.Aspartofthisdevelopmentprocess,onesetoftrialsthisyearwillbeheld

inBuckinghamshiretoensurethatthenewtestsareeffectiveandoftheappropriatestandard.

About1000pupilsinYear6willtakepartinthistriallaterintheSpringterm.Becausethese

pupilshavealreadytakenan11+test,thiswillgiveusaverygoodpictureoftheeffectivenessof

thenewtests.TheteststakennextSeptemberwillofcoursecompriseentirelynewmaterial.

16.Willprimaryschoolsbemeasuredbytheir11+results?No.Allschoolsaimtogivetheirpupilsathoroughgroundinginkeyskillsandabroad

introductiontoareasofknowledgesothattheyareproperlypreparedfortheirlatereducation

whichevertypeofschooltheygoto. Primaryschools(likeallschools)aremeasuredbythe

qualityoftheirteachingandlearning.

17.Mustpupilsachievethequalifyingscoreof121inbothtestsorjustone?A

pupils

scores

on

all

six

sections

of

the

two

tests

will

be

added

together

and

that

total

score

willthenbeagestandardised.Thiswillgiveanoverallviewofthepupilsabilities.

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18.Willfewerchildrenachievethe121scoreifbothtestsareaddedtogetherandthenstandardised?

No.Asimilarpercentageofpupilsasnowwillachievethequalifyingscore.Thisisbecausethe

standardisationiscarriedouteachyearonthepopulationactuallytakingthetests.

19.Isanyinformationavailableabouttherangeofscoresachievedbypupilsinrecentyears?Informationaboutpreviousyearstestsisnotavailablefromthegrammarschools.Thecurrent

processproducesstandardisedscoresofbetween69and141withameanofapproximately

110.In2013about32.9%achievedthequalifyingmarkof121.Achartcanbeprovidedon

requestbytheCountyCouncilsAdmissionsandTransportTeam.

20.Willtheverbal,numericalandnonverbalelementsofthetestsbeequallyweighted?Theexactweightingofthethreeelementswillbedecidedafterthoroughtrialling.

21.Arepracticepaperspublishedinthenewformat?Ifnot,whenwilltheybereleased?No.Afamiliarisationsheetwillbegiventopupilstosharewiththeirparentsandthepupilswill

taketwopreparationpapersinschool.Neitherthegrammarschoolsnorthelocalauthoritynor

thetest

provider

will

publish

any

practice

papers.

22.Whywillbothtestsbetakenonthesameday?Inpartthisisbecauseofthereducedamountoftimeinwhichthetesting,markinganddelivery

ofresultshastotakeplace.InpartitisbecauseCEMsadviceisthatpupilslevelsofstressand

anxietyarereducedifthetestingisnotspreadoutoverseveraldays.Thisadviceisbasedon

theirmanyyearsofexperienceofworkingwithpupilsofthisageandofdevelopingand

administeringtestsofthiskindforavarietyofschools.

23.WhydothetestshavetobetakensoearlyinSeptember?Wontthisdisadvantagesomepupils?

AsindicatedintheresponsetoQ7,theoveralltimetableisdrivenbytheneedtosendout

pupilsresults

by

31

October.

Currently

results

are

sent

out

by

the

end

of

November

so

afull

monthhastobetakenoutofthetimetable.Thisisamatterthatheadteachers(bothprimary

andsecondary)havethoughtaboutverycarefullyandhaveconcludedthatthealternativeof

testingjustbeforethesummerholidayislessattractiveandmoreunfaironpupilsthanearly

September.

24.Whyintroducethenewtestsinsucharushthisyear?Whynotwaituntil2014?Therearetwofactorshere.First,theSecretaryofStateforEducationhasinstructedthat

selectionresultshavetobeavailabletoparentsby31October.Thisshouldhavehappenedin

2012butthegrammarschoolsweregivenadispensationforoneyear.Itmustthereforehappen

in2013.Itwasthenagreedthatthetwochanges(tothetimetableandtothetests)shouldbe

introducedatthesametimeratherthanspreadthechanges,andthereforetheuncertainty,

overtwoyears.

25.Whendopupilsneedtoregistertotakethetests?ThedetailedtimetablefortheadmissionofpupilstosecondaryschoolsintheCountywillbe

publishedintheSummerterm.Noactionneedbetakenbyparentsbeforethat.

26.ArepupilsinBuckinghamshireprimaryschoolsautomaticallyenteredforthetestseveniftheirhomeaddressisoutsidetheCountyboundary?

Yes,unlessparentsnotifytheirchildsheadteacherthattheydonotwishtheirchildtotakethe

tests.

27.Whydoyouthinkthatthenewarrangementswillreducetheimpactofcoaching?

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Ingeneral,itismoredifficulttocoachnonverbalquestionsthanverbalquestions.CEMadvise

thatsomeoftheirverbalquestiontypesaremoredifficulttocoachthanothersthatare

commonlyusedinverbalreasoningtests.CEMalsoadvisethatgoodpreparationforthetestsis

todevelopachildsabilitytoreadwithunderstandingandtosolveproblemsusingtheir

numericalskills:thisiswhatprimaryschoolsaredoingwithalltheirpupils.

28.Whatwillthegrammarschoolsdotoeradicatetheunfairpracticewherebyindependentschoolspreparetheirpupilsthoroughlyforthetestsandthestateschoolsdonot?

Thechangesaredesignedtoreduceanyimpacteitherperceivedorrealofcoaching

whereverittakesplace.TheCountyCouncilhasstrictrulesgoverningtheconductofanyschool

thatisatestcentre.Thisincludespartnerschools(whichincludesmostBuckinghamshire

independentschools).Contrarytopopularbeliefinsomecircles,theserulesarestrictly

enforced.Forexample,theCouncilthreatenedtowithdrawpartnerschoolstatusfromone

schoolwhichwasfoundtoberunningaVRClub.However,neithertheCouncilnorthe

grammarschoolscanrealisticallyhaveanyinfluenceoverpracticeinschoolswhicharenot

partnerschools.

29.WhynotadministerthetestsattheendofYear5?Thishasbeenconsideredbutprimaryheadteachershaveadvisedthatitwouldbeunfairon

pupilstoaskthemtosittestsattheendofalongtermandattheendofaschoolyear.

30.WonttakingthetestssoearlyinYear6disadvantagesomepupilsbecausetheywillnotyethavelearnedthingsonwhichtheymaybetested?

No.TherewillbenothingintheteststhatgoesbeyondwhatpupilswillhavecoveredinYear5.

31.Whatistheconsultationthatisreferredtoinsomecorrespondence?Theconsultationsthatarecurrentlytakingplacearebeingundertakenbyallthegrammar

schools.Theyarerequiredbylawtoconsultotheradmissionauthoritiesandrelevantparentson

theiradmissions

policies.

These

consultations

last

until

1March

and,

again,

the

period

and

methodofconsultationisthatrequiredbytheAdmissionsCode.Attheendoftheconsultation

period,eachgrammarschoolgoverningbodywillconsidertheresponsesreceivedandthen

determineitsAdmissionsPolicybythedeadlineof15AprilassetoutintheAdmissionsCode.

32.Isthetimingofbothtestsonthesamedayinordertoreducethecostoftheoperation?No.Thetiminghasnothingtodowithcost.

33.ThestatisticsforentryintogrammarschoolsinBuckinghamshireshowthatindependentschoolpupilsstandabetterchanceofgainingaplacethanstateschoolpupils.

Thepercentageofindependentschoolpupilsgaininggrammarschoolplacesisindeedhigher

thanthepercentageofstateschoolplaces.Thisispartlybecausetheindependentschoolcohort

isselfselecting:thesepupilshavetoregistertotakethetestswhereasallpupilsin

Buckinghamshirestateschoolsareregisteredunlesstheirparentswithdrawthem.Inaddition,

manyindependentschoolsarethemselvesacademicallyselectiveonentryandthereforeit

shouldnotbeparticularlysurprisingifahigherpercentageoftheirpupilsachievethequalifying

mark.

34.Howwillyoupreventleaksofinformationaboutthetests?Anumberofstepsarebeingtaken.CEMwillnotpublishanypracticematerialforpurchaseby

parents.Thepreparationtestswillnotbesenthomeandwillbecollectedanddestroyed.The

realtestmaterialswill,aswithotherpsychometrictests,remainconfidential.

35.Howwillyouensurethatthateverythingrunssmoothlyandthatthisyearscohortisnotjustguineapigs?

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Asmanyaspectsaspossibleofthetestingprocessarebeingthoroughlytrialledduringthis

schoolyear.Theresultsofthattriallingwillbeevaluatedinthesummertermpriortoconfirming

detailswiththesupplier.

36.Whenwillfinaldecisionsbetakenaboutthetestingprocess?Itisexpectedthatfinaldecisionswillbeconfirmedduringthesummerterm.

37.Howwillthetestsbeadministered?Thecohortofpupilstakingthetestswillbesupervisedbyateacher.Eachpupilwillhavea

questionbookletandaseparateanswersheet.Thequestionbookletwillcontainallthe

necessaryinstructionsabouttakingthetestandallthetestquestions.TheteacherwilluseaCD

toplaytheinstructionsaboutstartingandfinishingthetestandtotimeallthesubsectionsof

thetest.Thesameprocedurewillbefollowedwiththepreparationtests.

38.Whatwillhappenifachildisillorverydistressedonthedayofthetestsorduringatest?Asinpreviousyears,schoolswillbegivenclearinstructionsabouthowtodealwithsuch

circumstances.Ifpupilsareunabletotakethetests,theywillbeabletodosoonalater

occasion.

39.Whathappensifmostpupilspass?Thiswillnothappen.Approximatelythesameproportionofpupilswillqualifyasqualify

currently.

40.Arethesechangesrelatedtochangesincatchmentareas?No.Thedecisionaboutthetestsupplierandthetypesoftestshasnothingtodowithschool

catchmentareas.

41.IsapupilsscoreontheBuckinghamshireteststransferabletoanotherauthority?No.

42.Willtheappealprocessremainthesame?It

is

the

intention

that

both

the

Review

Process

and

the

Appeal

Process

will

remain

the

same.

43.Whenwillresultsbeavailable?Theresultswillbecommunicatedtoparentsbeforefinaldecisionshavetobemadeabout

secondaryschoolpreferences,i.e.before31October. Theexactdatewillbepublishedindue

course.

44.Willdatesofschoolopeneveningsbechangingtofitinwiththisnewtimetable?DatesofOpenEveningsaresetbyindividualschoolsandarenotcentrallydetermined.However

allthegrammarschoolswillholdopendaysbeforethedeadlineforcompletingsecondary

schoolpreferences.

45.Willalltestquestionsbeequallyratedandallsectionsbeequallyweighted?Alltestquestionswillbeequallyrated(i.e.everycorrectanswerwillgainonerawscorepoint).

Thesectionswillnotbeequallyweighted.TheweightingwillbedecidedafterthetrialinMarch.

46.WhyistherenoscienceorEnglishwritinginthetests?Itisimportanttodistinguishbetweentestsofattainment,whichassessapupilsgraspof

particularcurriculumcontent,andtestsofability,whichassessapupilsuseofthought

processesandtheirgraspofconcepts.The11+testsaretestsofability.ScienceandEnglish

writingwouldmorenaturallybefoundintestsofattainment.Itisalsoimportantthatapupils

resultsinthe11+testsarenotentirelyconditionedbytheirgraspoftheprimarycurriculum:this

istheroleoftheSATstakenattheendofYear6.