QUESTIONSABOUTTHENEW11+TESTS 1. Whydotherehavetobetests? BuckinghamshireisaselectiveauthorityforsecondaryschooladmissionsandtheDepartment forEducation(DfE)determinedthatthegrammarschoolsshouldretaintheirselectivestatus whentheybecameacademies.Asaresulttherehastobeanobjectiveandindependentwayof 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 withthecurrenttests. 6. Whoisprovidingthetests? Thetestproviderwasselectedafterafulltenderingprocessundertakenbythegrammar schools.ThesuccessfultendererisCEM:TheCentreforEvaluationandMonitoringatDurham University.CEMhasalongandsuccessfultrackrecordofdevelopingtestsforuseinselection (forbothindependentandstateschools)andformonitoringandanalysingpupilprogress (mainlyinsecondaryschools). 7. Whenwillthetestsbetaken? ThetestswillbetakeninSeptember.Thedesignatedtestdateis12September.Thistimetableis necessarytocomplywiththerequirementofthegovernmentthatpupilsshouldknowthe outcomesofselectiveassessmentsbeforefinalisingtheirsecondaryschoolpreferencesatthe endofOctober. 8. Willthetestsbeonseparatedays? Bothtestswillbetakenonthesamedaywithagapoftimebetweenthemofabout3040 minutes.Anumberofadministrativedetailsabouttimingonthetestdatehavenotyetbeen finalised.CEMsadviceandexperienceisthatthisisbothfeasiblewithinaprimaryschool timetableanddesirableintermsofreducingthestressonthechildren.Theywill,afterall,be takingmorethanoneSATtestonthesamedaytowardstheendofYear6. 9. Howwillthetestsbemarked? Thetestswillbemachinemarked.Thetestswillbeinamultiplechoiceformatandthepupils willcompletemachinereadableanswersheets. 7February2013

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,beforetakingthetestson10Septemberthepupilswillbegiventwopreparation paperseachlastingabout2530minutescontainingtestitemsthatmirrorwhattheywillfindin thefulltests.Thepurposeofthisexerciseistogivethepupilsexperienceoftesttaking conditionsaswellasgivingthemtheopportunitytoworkthroughexampletestmaterial.The preparationpaperswillnotbemarkedortakenawayfromtheschool.Itisnotthepurposeof thepreparationteststoseehowmanyquestionstheygetrightbuttohelpthemtoprepare themselvesforthetests. 13. Whycantparentsseethepreparationpapers? CEMdoesnotpublishanypracticebooksofitstypesoftestsanditwantscirculationoftest materialstobekepttoaminimumsoastomaintaintheintegrityandfairnessofitstests. 14. Howcanparentsbesthelptheirchildrentoprepareforthetests? Thereareanumberofthingsthatparentscandotohelptheirchildren.Theycanensurethat theyhaveexperienceofworkingquietlyontheirown,uninterruptedbynoiseordistractions. 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? Apupilsscoresonallsixsectionsofthetwotestswillbeaddedtogetherandthattotalscore willthenbeagestandardised.Thiswillgiveanoverallviewofthepupilsabilities. 7February2013

18. Willfewerchildrenachievethe121scoreifbothtestsareaddedtogetherandthen standardised? 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 thetestproviderwillpublishanypracticepapers. 22. Whywillbothtestsbetakenonthesameday? Inpartthisisbecauseofthereducedamountoftimeinwhichthetesting,markinganddelivery ofresultshastotakeplace.InpartitisbecauseCEMsadviceisthatpupilslevelsofstressand anxietyarereducedifthetestingisnotspreadoutoverseveraldays.Thisadviceisbasedon theirmanyyearsofexperienceofworkingwithpupilsofthisageandofdevelopingand administeringtestsofthiskindforavarietyofschools. 23. WhydothetestshavetobetakensoearlyinSeptember?Wontthisdisadvantagesome pupils? AsindicatedintheresponsetoQ7,theoveralltimetableisdrivenbytheneedtosendout pupilsresultsby31October.CurrentlyresultsaresentoutbytheendofNovembersoafull 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. ArepupilsinBuckinghamshireprimaryschoolsautomaticallyenteredforthetestseveniftheir homeaddressisoutsidetheCountyboundary? Yes,unlessparentsnotifytheirchildsheadteacherthattheydonotwishtheirchildtotakethe tests. 27. Whydoyouthinkthatthenewarrangementswillreducetheimpactofcoaching?

7February2013

28.

29.

30.

31.

32. 33.

34.

35.

Ingeneral,itismoredifficulttocoachnonverbalquestionsthanverbalquestions.CEMadvise thatsomeoftheirverbalquestiontypesaremoredifficulttocoachthanothersthatare commonlyusedinverbalreasoningtests.CEMalsoadvisethatgoodpreparationforthetestsis todevelopachildsabilitytoreadwithunderstandingandtosolveproblemsusingtheir numericalskills:thisiswhatprimaryschoolsaredoingwithalltheirpupils. Whatwillthegrammarschoolsdotoeradicatetheunfairpracticewherebyindependent schoolspreparetheirpupilsthoroughlyforthetestsandthestateschoolsdonot? Thechangesaredesignedtoreduceanyimpacteitherperceivedorrealofcoaching whereverittakesplace.TheCountyCouncilhasstrictrulesgoverningtheconductofanyschool thatisatestcentre.Thisincludespartnerschools(whichincludesmostBuckinghamshire independentschools).Contrarytopopularbeliefinsomecircles,theserulesarestrictly enforced.Forexample,theCouncilthreatenedtowithdrawpartnerschoolstatusfromone schoolwhichwasfoundtoberunningaVRClub.However,neithertheCouncilnorthe grammarschoolscanrealisticallyhaveanyinfluenceoverpracticeinschoolswhicharenot partnerschools. WhynotadministerthetestsattheendofYear5? Thishasbeenconsideredbutprimaryheadteachershaveadvisedthatitwouldbeunfairon pupilstoaskthemtosittestsattheendofalongtermandattheendofaschoolyear. WonttakingthetestssoearlyinYear6disadvantagesomepupilsbecausetheywillnotyet havelearnedthingsonwhichtheymaybetested? No.TherewillbenothingintheteststhatgoesbeyondwhatpupilswillhavecoveredinYear5. Whatistheconsultationthatisreferredtoinsomecorrespondence? Theconsultationsthatarecurrentlytakingplacearebeingundertakenbyallthegrammar schools.Theyarerequiredbylawtoconsultotheradmissionauthoritiesandrelevantparentson theiradmissionspolicies.Theseconsultationslastuntil1Marchand,again,theperiodand methodofconsultationisthatrequiredbytheAdmissionsCode.Attheendoftheconsultation period,eachgrammarschoolgoverningbodywillconsidertheresponsesreceivedandthen determineitsAdmissionsPolicybythedeadlineof15AprilassetoutintheAdmissionsCode. Isthetimingofbothtestsonthesamedayinordertoreducethecostoftheoperation? No.Thetiminghasnothingtodowithcost. ThestatisticsforentryintogrammarschoolsinBuckinghamshireshowthatindependent schoolpupilsstandabetterchanceofgainingaplacethanstateschoolpupils. Thepercentageofindependentschoolpupilsgaininggrammarschoolplacesisindeedhigher thanthepercentageofstateschoolplaces.Thisispartlybecausetheindependentschoolcohort isselfselecting:thesepupilshavetoregistertotakethetestswhereasallpupilsin Buckinghamshirestateschoolsareregisteredunlesstheirparentswithdrawthem.Inaddition, manyindependentschoolsarethemselvesacademicallyselectiveonentryandthereforeit shouldnotbeparticularlysurprisingifahigherpercentageoftheirpupilsachievethequalifying mark. Howwillyoupreventleaksofinformationaboutthetests? Anumberofstepsarebeingtaken.CEMwillnotpublishanypracticematerialforpurchaseby parents.Thepreparationtestswillnotbesenthomeandwillbecollectedanddestroyed.The realtestmaterialswill,aswithotherpsychometrictests,remainconfidential. Howwillyouensurethatthateverythingrunssmoothlyandthatthisyearscohortisnotjust guineapigs?

7February2013

36. 37.

38.

39.

40.

41. 42. 43.

44.

45.

46.

Asmanyaspectsaspossibleofthetestingprocessarebeingthoroughlytrialledduringthis schoolyear.Theresultsofthattriallingwillbeevaluatedinthesummertermpriortoconfirming detailswiththesupplier. Whenwillfinaldecisionsbetakenaboutthetestingprocess? Itisexpectedthatfinaldecisionswillbeconfirmedduringthesummerterm. Howwillthetestsbeadministered? Thecohortofpupilstakingthetestswillbesupervisedbyateacher.Eachpupilwillhavea questionbookletandaseparateanswersheet.Thequestionbookletwillcontainallthe necessaryinstructionsabouttakingthetestandallthetestquestions.TheteacherwilluseaCD toplaytheinstructionsaboutstartingandfinishingthetestandtotimeallthesubsectionsof thetest.Thesameprocedurewillbefollowedwiththepreparationtests. Whatwillhappenifachildisillorverydistressedonthedayofthetestsorduringatest? Asinpreviousyears,schoolswillbegivenclearinstructionsabouthowtodealwithsuch circumstances.Ifpupilsareunabletotakethetests,theywillbeabletodosoonalater occasion. Whathappensifmostpupilspass? Thiswillnothappen.Approximatelythesameproportionofpupilswillqualifyasqualify currently. Arethesechangesrelatedtochangesincatchmentareas? No.Thedecisionaboutthetestsupplierandthetypesoftestshasnothingtodowithschool catchmentareas. IsapupilsscoreontheBuckinghamshireteststransferabletoanotherauthority? No. Willtheappealprocessremainthesame? ItistheintentionthatboththeReviewProcessandtheAppealProcesswillremainthesame. Whenwillresultsbeavailable? Theresultswillbecommunicatedtoparentsbeforefinaldecisionshavetobemadeabout secondaryschoolpreferences,i.e.before31October.Theexactdatewillbepublishedindue course. Willdatesofschoolopeneveningsbechangingtofitinwiththisnewtimetable? DatesofOpenEveningsaresetbyindividualschoolsandarenotcentrallydetermined.However allthegrammarschoolswillholdopendaysbeforethedeadlineforcompletingsecondary schoolpreferences. Willalltestquestionsbeequallyratedandallsectionsbeequallyweighted? Alltestquestionswillbeequallyrated(i.e.everycorrectanswerwillgainonerawscorepoint). Thesectionswillnotbeequallyweighted.TheweightingwillbedecidedafterthetrialinMarch. WhyistherenoscienceorEnglishwritinginthetests? Itisimportanttodistinguishbetweentestsofattainment,whichassessapupilsgraspof particularcurriculumcontent,andtestsofability,whichassessapupilsuseofthought processesandtheirgraspofconcepts.The11+testsaretestsofability.ScienceandEnglish writingwouldmorenaturallybefoundintestsofattainment.Itisalsoimportantthatapupils resultsinthe11+testsarenotentirelyconditionedbytheirgraspoftheprimarycurriculum:this istheroleoftheSATstakenattheendofYear6.

7February2013