When to do Eleven Plus Papers

Parents are sometimes able to argue with some conviction that there is a strong case to leave eleven plus revision to simply working through a few papers just before the examination. “We only did a two or three papers, untimed of course, and my daughter passed with flying colours.”

These parents have strong evidence, of course, to back up their claims that go back over many years.

Case 1: Salamanders
Salamanders reared with little opportunity to swim freely learnt to swim remarkably quickly when they are offered the opportunity.

Case 2: Chicks
Chicks reared in darkness fir a few days actually learnt to peck accurately with a far faster rate of improvement than did chicks that were give every opportunity in learning to peck.

Case 3: Children
Children who were given special practice in stair climbing and tower building showed improvement – but children who were not given such special practice learnt the same skills but took much less time.

Case 4: Hopi Indians
Hopi Indian children who were reared on cradle boards, so they could not use their legs, learnt to walk at much the same time as other Hopi Indian children.

Parents of Eleven Plus children will no doubt rejoice in the results of this research. They will be able to justify in their own minds that there is little need to purchase piles of eleven plus papers. The parents will be able to say that there is little need for tutors and eleven plus courses. Playground gossip will agree that their no real need for their school to be blamed for not doing any extra eleven plus work.

There will naturally be some unconvinced parents who will maintain that: “It is better to be safe than sorry.”

Eleven Plus Parents

Research carried out some fifty years ago suggested that intelligence does not decline or decrease after the age of thirty.

Naturally this information will be of vital importance to parents of eleven plus children. If you can not do some strange eleven plus question it does not mean that all your brains are shrinking, it could be simply a poorly conceived eleven plus question.

Fair Eleven Plus Examinations

There are a few lines from a lyric at the beginning of "My Fair Lady" which seems to sum up the parts of te current state of the eleven plus.



Arabians learn Arabian with the speed of summer lightning.
And Hebrews learn it backwards,
which is absolutely frightening.
But use proper English you're regarded as a freak.
Why can't the English,
Why can't the English learn to speak?

We are taking booking for courses all over the country. Every county wants its own take on the examination. Individual schools want to show how individual they are by designing their own eleven plus examinations.

Why can`t the eleven plus authorities agree on a common examination?

Desirable Eleven Plus Characteristics

Gone are the days when a parent can say to a child: “If you don’t work hard towards your eleven plus you will become a shop assistant.”

In the first place a person who decides to make a career in a shop has to have certain attributes which are hard to install – namely the ability to withstand the continual wear and tear that comes through contact with customers. A shop assistant who can deal with an aggrieved and angry customer has personal qualities which some eleven plus children may need. After all a child working towards the eleven plus has to feel special – and be cosseted at time by all concerned. (“The eleven plus is such a worry.”) Equally the eleven plus child is only one member of a family so that there can be no banging of doors (Literally as we as figuratively.)

Shop assistants have to be enthusiastic and cheerful – otherwise they will drive their customers away. Eleven plus children also have to be enthusiastic and cheerful otherwise they will drive their parents away. After the link between mother the earth mother and mother the eleven plus teacher can be tenuous.

Finally a little sincerity has to creep into the equation. Parents can be driven to say – with considerable conviction - “As I said before, if you don’t work hard towards your eleven plus you will have to become a shop assistant, but take heed if you do then you must be not only the best possible but the most sincere shop assistant.”

Do we remember a shop assistant who has been courteous and tactful? Very likely on major purchases. It is also likely that we keep well away from the angry and disillusioned. Every time your eleven plus child is friendly and hardworking say a little prayer. After all children under some degree of pressure must need to re charge their batteries – so long as it is not at your expense.

There is not an eleven plus parent in the land who will not display characteristics of patience, perseverance, adaptability, sincerity, courtesy, tactfulness and resistance to pressure at one time or another. They can only hope that their eleven plus children do the same - at one time or another.

Eleven Plus Payment by Results

The whole idea of the National Curriculum was that children between the ages of 5 and 16 should follow a centrally directed curriculum consisting of core and foundation subjects.

The second premise was that children should be tested at ages seven, eleven, fourteen and sixteen. The rationale for the change was that some state schools did not offer a curriculum that was appropriate to their needs and those of society. Nation wide testing was advocated because standards seemed to be slipping when compared with children in other countries.

Of course there was no room for eleven plus testing in the great scheme of things.

In essence, however, the national curriculum in the `new’ form of core foundation subjects went back to the Education Act of 1902 when the then Conservative Government abolished 2568 school boards.

Testing at 14 has already been abolished. SATs at eleven has been attacked on many fronts.

But back in 1862 there was a system of payment to schools based on a limited range of subjects – the 3 Rs. (Reading, writing and Arithmetic.)

Suppose that some future government introduced a different system of payment by results based on mathematics along with verbal and non verbal reasoning.

This would introduce considerable controversy into the present fraught education system!

Think of a scenario where teachers at school were actively trying to help bright children to tackle demanding mathematics problems and cope with having to learn to reason and think!

It does not bear thinking. All over the country worried parents would not only have to worry about the pressure they were putting on their children – but parents would have to worry about the pressure the teachers at school were putting on their children!

Eleven Plus Mini Tests

In 1991 we started on developing a computer program that used the strengths of the National Curriculum to try to help children to learn in a measured and organised manner. We used standardised tests to diagnose strengths and weaknesses –and our test results were trusted by parents, children and professionals. The great majority of the tests were administered and interpreted by serving teachers – which gave dignity, authority and strength to any diagnosis.

Our program ACTION served us well – prescribing over two and half individualised lessons for children. A few years ago we started on eACTION – that allowed us to use the developing power of the internet to deliver lessons. Back in 1998 some children attending Etc were taught through the internet – but the download speeds were too slow. We used a Macromedia product called Authorware to carry the lessons.

Today eACTION allows us to test and diagnose through a battery of internet ready tests – and deliver lessons to any where in the world. Some children still do pen and paper standardised tests when deemed necessary.

Continuous assessment has always been achieved and carried out through each child’s ACTION plan. We have just added the concept of on line mini tests which allow us to offer partial assessments in the child’s own home.

Children attending our Eleven Plus courses over the coming holidays can be tested to see just how secure their examination readiness is. As the children work through pen and paper eleven plus exercises on the courses their results are entered onto eACTION. Parents and the eleven plus candidates log on to revise and consolidate the work they did in their lessons.

Predicting Eleven Pus Success

One reason for asking children to compete for grammar school places is an attempt to use the results to predict future academic success. In other words a child who does well in the eleven plus, and then has the benefit of a grammar school education, should do well at GCSE, A level and I.B. examinations.

There must have been many comparisons of test results over the years. Are Verbal Reasoning tests better at predicting than Non Verbal Reasoning tests? What part does mathematics play in being a useful predictive tool?

Are there any tests which predict success in particular A level subjects? If so, how good is there predictive power? It would also be very helpful to us to know just how valid the eleven plus test results are.

We know that grammar school rely on the validity of the eleven plus test. We know too that verbal reasoning plays an important part in most eleven plus examinations. Verbal reasoning is a common element in many different eleven plus tests so grammar schools must rely on good verbal reasoning results.

The preparation for verbal reasoning tests must take many different paths. Good reading skills, and a strong usable vocabulary, must help. Good results on verbal reasoning tests must also be affected by the influence of the school, the home and the neighbourhood. A good tutor along with involved parents may sometimes also play a significant part in helping some children to do well on a verbal reasoning test.