“He is a scaly individual!” implies that the person under scrutiny is of a questionable nature. Perhaps the word comes from the wet dripping feeling of cold freshly caught fish. Perhaps the link to scales is through the almost lifeless feeling of holding a lizard as it tries to escape. But scales are also used in music and to weigh quantities.
Scales in eleven plus terms could apply to comparing performances between children. Different papers could be compared and so progress can be monitored. This could be a very valuable tool if similar papers were compared. Imagine an earnest mother and daughter working on eleven plus papers. They work through a set of papers and reach the dizzy heights of 85%. “You are on the right route to pass dear. Well done.”
The two then buy a different set of papers and the marks drop significantly. Are the marks of the first set relevant? Should they believe in the marks of the second set?
A friend advises them to take the scales off their eyes. Nearly all eleven plus work is relevant. Different people will find different questions hard. Many children could go over:
Fractional values and fractions
Percentages
Division
Ratio
A number of children have only a few days before their 2010 eleven plus examination. Now is the time to take the pressure off. Build confidence by revising key areas. Don’t suddenly start trying to cover vast areas of new ground. There may not be enough time to consolidate any thing that was too new.
Do you remember learning to play the recorder or the violin or piano? You had to go over your scales again and again. The constant repetition brought you to examination pitch. Opera singers rehearse their scales to warm their voices up. Try to be sensitive of your child’s needs and do not try to do too much over the next few days.
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