11+ PREPARATION

All 11+ Assessments are scored using a metric called SAS (Standardised Age Score). The SAS are represented by a bell curve - the middle line is an SAS of 100 which is average for the child's year group. The shaded region represents the Average Range 90 to 110. Anything above (to the right of the curve) is higher than Average. Anything below (to the left of the curve) is lower. To achieve a particular SAS, your child's age is taken into account. An older child needs to answer more questions correctly to achieve the same SAS score as a younger one. Schools will convert students' raw scores into SAS, then rank them from highest to lowest. Depending on how many place they have, they will select and give offers to the top SAS achievers. Your child should aim for an SAS 115 for a solid chance to succeed in most schools.

Your child should aim for an SAS 115 for a solid chance to succeed in most schools.

Adaptive Testing is currently used for ISEB Pre-test & New London Consortium Assessment.

Simply put, the test moulds to your child's ability. A child's answer to a question, determines the difficulty of the questions that follows. If your child's answer to Q1 is correct or wrong, they are given a more difficult or easier Q2, respectively. Whilst this may visibly seem unfair (as weaker students will end up with the same raw scores are stronger students), the conversion into an SAS result actually takes question difficulty into account, and re-adjusts the scores to eliminate the effect of this variable. Merits of adaptive testing include seeing each child's true ability in tackling questions of their level - otherwise the test will have to be of average difficulty, forcing stronger students to answer questions too easy for them and weaker students to answer questions too difficult for them. This results in less accurate testing. Adaptive Testing also requires a fewer amount of questions to deduce a child's ability, thus making the tests overall shorter in length and time and less stressful for young students.

However, you should keep this in mind when preparing your child for the 11+. If they make a silly error on Q1, their Q2 will be easier thus capping their SAS to a lower value, even though they may have been capable of tackling a more difficult Q2. Children should be told that the test moulds to their abilities so they pay close attention to silly errors, particularly in the first few questions.

In order for adaptive testing to be feasible for the 11+, it is done through Online, Multiple-choice Assessments.

It is a group of schools using the same test to determine a child's entry:

Channing School, Francis Holland School, Godolphin and Latymer, More House School, Northwood College for Girls, Notting Hill and Ealing High School, St Augustine's Priory, St Helen's School London, St. James Senior Girls' School, St Margaret's School, Queen's College London, Queen's Gate School, South Hampstead High School