|
70
|
29
|
17
|
12
|
13
|
|
56
|
62
|
18
|
37
|
35
|
|
78
|
49
|
57
|
22
|
77
|
|
16
|
08
|
15
|
04
|
72
|
|
31
|
16
|
33
|
32
|
43
|
Part of a Random Numbers Table
Every now and again it is possible that your thoughts may
have wondered if a certain type of eleven plus question was really going to
come up in this year’s examination. You may have used the principle of
randomisation to ensure all the different types of alternatives had an equal chance
of occurring. Some of you may have used a well-known examination paper with
eighty questions with your child.
You could select ten questions out of the eighty and do
those topics with your child.
You could choose five questions and leave out five questions
You could suggest to your child that he or she does not work
through the questions in a sequential order but that it was possible to jump
around the questions and execute them in any order
You may want to suggest to your child that he or she works
through the paper touching simply on random questions.
Could any of these methods of choosing questions help engage
your child’s interest or should he or she work solemnly through the paper in a
sequential order? When questions are selected at random you are trying to
ensure that all the possible alternatives have an equal chance of occurring.
Of course if you have a number of random numbers tables then
you will need to select the tables at random! This is often done by closing
your eyes and stabbing at the page with your pencil to choose a starting point.
You then drop the pencil from a great height and move up and down the table
depending on which way the end of your pencil is pointing.
If you are trying to select ten numbers from eighty you
could establish a starting point and then select the numbers in five sets of pairs.
You could maintain that you use only even numbers for the first
five questions and then only odd numbers from your table for the next five
questions.
You can simply start at the beginning of the table and
choose the next ten numbers. You could start at the end of the table and choose
the previous ten numbers.
The writers of eleven plus papers are following some form of
a system in presenting questions to children. Not all eleven plus papers will
follow the same ordering system. The questions on one paper could be very
different from those on another. Naturally parents are not purchasing eleven
plus papers at random. They are relying on the integrity, expertise and
knowledge of the authors of eleven plus papers.
