Deciding whether your child is ready for eleven plus work seems to depend on the experience of your child, the nature of the examination, underlying intelligence or reasoning ability and maturity.
Many years ago strong arguments took place about the effectiveness of coaching and practice. One side maintained that extra work on papers and eleven plus exercises was a complete waste of time. Other parents and educators felt that it was essential to give children the best possible chance.
Today few would argue that extra preparation could help towards providing children with the opportunities to acquire readiness for the eleven plus examination. There will always be some parents who maintain that their child was able to pass the eleven plus with remarkably little preparation. These fortunate parents, and their children, are to be envied. It is also likely that some parents may lack the ability to help their children. This could lead to bright and able children losing out to better prepared but less able children.
Eleven plus preparation, for some children, will be a series of small steps – where each processes is analysed and hopefully assimilated. Other children will relish the opportunity of being able to extend and stretch themselves without having to wait for others.
Children can be coached in how to tackle verbal and non verbal reasoning papers. They can be shown different methods of tackling questions and can be drilled with exercises. This could help some children to obtain good marks on reasoning papers. The coaching and preparation can only effective if the eleven plus examiners persist in presenting the same format of papers year after year. If the examiners looked for new ways of testing reasoning ability they may be able to develop examinations where truly bright children were identified.
Years and years ago an effective eleven plus question may have been:
If 123245678 in code is PARAMOUNT
What is 123358?
Very few candidates sitting this year’s examinations will not be able to know how to cope with this type of question. This could help to diminish elements of the eleven plus the ability to be a true examination of reasoning.
Showing posts with label verbal reasoning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label verbal reasoning. Show all posts
Friday, September 17, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Standard Eleven Plus Papers
Many children are in the middle of eleven plus courses. Verbal reasoning plays a large part in many eleven plus examinations. Today children can work through verbal reasoning exercises through books, papers, DVDs, CDs and the internet. There is not one standard form of verbal reasoning paper.
Many years ago printing was introduced to the world by Gutenberg – who heralded a new revolution and did away with people having to rely on hand written manuscripts. Today anyone with aspirations can set themselves up as a verbal reasoning author.
Children with good verbal reasoning scores can pass the eleven plus and so reach the portals of the local grammar school. Once in the grammar school the children hope to be educated. Yet must all children who do not pass be considered at ill educated? This would be a very sorry tale.
We need to look back to the Education Action of 1870. Elementary school teachers were hired who spoke in an `educated’ manner. Some children became ashamed of the speech of their parents. As compulsory education spread through England more and more children began to use key words, speech and language. Educated English, however, is not the same as Standard English. Educated English is adopted universally throughout England. It is thus possible for children to be able to cope with a variety of eleven plus papers – even if they come from varied backgrounds.
Standard English is not the stuff of Eleven Plus papers. The term `Standard English’ seems to imply that all speak in a uniform manner. Standard English has distinctive features – but not unusual ones. In the end children sit educated English papers and not papers that are standard in certain areas or regions.
As children from many parts of the country read their verbal reasoning questions aloud, within the context of many dialects, accents and speech patterns, we know that the eleven plus is looking for children who have the potential to be well educated.
Many years ago printing was introduced to the world by Gutenberg – who heralded a new revolution and did away with people having to rely on hand written manuscripts. Today anyone with aspirations can set themselves up as a verbal reasoning author.
Children with good verbal reasoning scores can pass the eleven plus and so reach the portals of the local grammar school. Once in the grammar school the children hope to be educated. Yet must all children who do not pass be considered at ill educated? This would be a very sorry tale.
We need to look back to the Education Action of 1870. Elementary school teachers were hired who spoke in an `educated’ manner. Some children became ashamed of the speech of their parents. As compulsory education spread through England more and more children began to use key words, speech and language. Educated English, however, is not the same as Standard English. Educated English is adopted universally throughout England. It is thus possible for children to be able to cope with a variety of eleven plus papers – even if they come from varied backgrounds.
Standard English is not the stuff of Eleven Plus papers. The term `Standard English’ seems to imply that all speak in a uniform manner. Standard English has distinctive features – but not unusual ones. In the end children sit educated English papers and not papers that are standard in certain areas or regions.
As children from many parts of the country read their verbal reasoning questions aloud, within the context of many dialects, accents and speech patterns, we know that the eleven plus is looking for children who have the potential to be well educated.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
"He has a good Eleven Plus chance."
What does it mean if you have a child who has been identified as having `a good chance of gaining a grammar school place’.
We should think that your child is above average. You child may also have qualities that set him or her apart from their peers. You may sometimes hear the statement: “Oh he is a bright one!” Does this mean that he is a bright one intellectually, or is he good with words or even just a charming cheeky chappie?
The word `bright’ must apply to many different situations. Sadly, however, in terms of passing the eleven plus the word `bright’ only relates to obtaining a certain score on a certain day.
Your child may only be bright in terms of taking a certain type of test on a certain day. For example his intelligence may shine through on the verbal reasoning test – but he may come up with an unexpected score on the non verbal reasoning test. He may have completed the non verbal reasoning test in a third of the expected time – but at the same time missed two pages. You child may never have done anything like that in all papers you have done together. Does missing a couple of pages on the day of a vital test make your son less bright?
We had this happen to us very recently. A very able boy did a retest after six months of tuition. He did very well on the mathematics and verbal reasoning tests. He missed the third and fourth page of the non verbal reasoning test. He only made one mistake on the paper – but left out seventeen questions. His mother asked him why and he simply shook his head. I think that this demanding test was just a bit too easy for him and he lost concentration.
His non verbal reasoning score still came out above average – but no one would be able to call him `bright’ on the basis of that score. So how did his intelligence `fly away’? He just made one mistake of turning over two pages – not seventeen mistakes. That one error could cost him a place in grammar school.
So you can’t call a bright boy `average’ on the basis of one test result. The `Eleven Plus System’ in his area can easily call him `non selective’. The appeal panel can also reject him on the grounds that he did not fulfil the selection criteria.
It all seems illogical and very unfair. In eleven plus terms a bright child is intellectually able. He may also be bright, charming and articulate. On the day of the examination he has to prove his `bright’ side. Please remind him to read the instructions at the beginning of the test, check he has completed all the pages and look back over his paper. Above all remind him not to `switch off’ while he is being told what to do at the start of the test.
He will remain as having `a good chance of a place in grammar school’ if he keeps `bright and alert’.
We should think that your child is above average. You child may also have qualities that set him or her apart from their peers. You may sometimes hear the statement: “Oh he is a bright one!” Does this mean that he is a bright one intellectually, or is he good with words or even just a charming cheeky chappie?
The word `bright’ must apply to many different situations. Sadly, however, in terms of passing the eleven plus the word `bright’ only relates to obtaining a certain score on a certain day.
Your child may only be bright in terms of taking a certain type of test on a certain day. For example his intelligence may shine through on the verbal reasoning test – but he may come up with an unexpected score on the non verbal reasoning test. He may have completed the non verbal reasoning test in a third of the expected time – but at the same time missed two pages. You child may never have done anything like that in all papers you have done together. Does missing a couple of pages on the day of a vital test make your son less bright?
We had this happen to us very recently. A very able boy did a retest after six months of tuition. He did very well on the mathematics and verbal reasoning tests. He missed the third and fourth page of the non verbal reasoning test. He only made one mistake on the paper – but left out seventeen questions. His mother asked him why and he simply shook his head. I think that this demanding test was just a bit too easy for him and he lost concentration.
His non verbal reasoning score still came out above average – but no one would be able to call him `bright’ on the basis of that score. So how did his intelligence `fly away’? He just made one mistake of turning over two pages – not seventeen mistakes. That one error could cost him a place in grammar school.
So you can’t call a bright boy `average’ on the basis of one test result. The `Eleven Plus System’ in his area can easily call him `non selective’. The appeal panel can also reject him on the grounds that he did not fulfil the selection criteria.
It all seems illogical and very unfair. In eleven plus terms a bright child is intellectually able. He may also be bright, charming and articulate. On the day of the examination he has to prove his `bright’ side. Please remind him to read the instructions at the beginning of the test, check he has completed all the pages and look back over his paper. Above all remind him not to `switch off’ while he is being told what to do at the start of the test.
He will remain as having `a good chance of a place in grammar school’ if he keeps `bright and alert’.
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