Can someone explain ISEB to me?

Atom also market themselves as a tool to get ready for entry into year 7 so it’s probably fair to assume that their content will cover year 6 and things ISEB tests will not.

Welcome @LittleBlackBear I have been wondering the same. There is quite a lot of algebra on the Atom ISEB mocks but I’m pretty sure algebra is not part of the Y5 curriculum

Hi littleblackbear, my understanding is that if the child is doing well in the test, the content moves past what they would have been expected to have done in school at this point. Sorry, I know that’s not very helpful.

Hello everyone - hope everyone is doing ok despite the new restrictions.

We are deep in prep for the ISEB pre-test as so many are at the moment. We're at a state primary who won't host the test so will be sitting it at a one of the indies that we've applied to.

So far we've have mainly been using ATOM, and as we near the test date trying to hone in on areas that need more work.

The question I have is about maths and ATOM mock tests. The ISEB website is really clear that what will be covered is only up to end of Y5 national curriculum maths. However in the ATOM maths mock test there are lots of questions that are Y6 topics eg area of triangles.

So I am finding it hard to be sure about what to focus on. There's not much time so don't want to be worrying about things that won't actually come up!

Can anyone shed some light on this discrepancy?

Thank you in advance! x

Big hugs @Happysummer. Your DD is in good hands with you. This year is just not going to be the same. The whole process, feels me with dread... But as a parent, I’ve got to stay calm and Guide DC through this all. I have a DC applying to university as well this year, I’ll be glad when the processes are all over.
I’m honestly glad for online support ATM, even if it’s just to acknowledge we are all in the same boat.

@MarshaBradyo, @Doobiedooo thank you.

@SuiGeneris I know exactly what you mean. It's very difficult to decide what's right and what's wrong in these circumstances, and there is no manual. Obviously, we all consult with other people irl, and the helpful boards, such as here, but the choice is only ours to make and we have to accept it may turn to be the wrong one in retrospect.

I know for a fact he will need to put more effort in to progress than some of his peers. However, I also know his efforts usually pay off and the ability is there, it just needs accessing in a different way. To me, that's a prime candidate for "reasonable adjustments", and I do now that there are schools out there willing to make them, once we clear the selective hurdle. Most won't, but we only need one :)

Sorry to hear that @Happysummer Well done for being so calm and positive despite the disappointment, it sounds like your DD did work hard and she deserves to be encouraged! I wish her all the best, the “plan B” looks like a great option (what a luxury to have a good school on your doorstep!) so I’m sure things will work out very well for her. Thank you for coming back to us with feedback despite the difficult news, it serves to highlight how brutal the process is and nothing is ever granted.

Thank you. Yes we have a good state secondary as our catchment but the more focused environment, smaller class sizes plus the beautiful grounds and facilities was a big draw. Headmistress seemed quirky and awesome (a strong feminist which I loved to inspire the girls) but it does relieve us of the financial pressure and it does make us appreciate our plan B, so we are very lucky to have this school on our doorstep for free. Certainly not a consolation prize at all.

Wishing everyone else lots of luck and I don't think one particular school can make anyone. That comes from within.

@Happysummer sorry to hear this. Goes to show. An off day or what have you. I’m so disillusioned by this whole process. Is is brutal. Same goes for the son of @GrammarHopeful who is clearly such a bright lad, but has timing issues. Well, who knows what the schooling future brings re Covid. Spending ££ on a private school may be a pointless exercise if disrupted learning, difficult travel etc for, potentially, the next five years. Suddenly the local, slightly rough, state school is beginning to sound just fine...

We have our ISEB results. DD didn't progress and we were told they could provide scores if we contacted the school.

DD scores were around 10 points less than she was getting on the ATOM mocks. They said she was an able child but she just missed the cut off. She had to sit the exam at the senior school rather than her primary school (primary didn't have the resources to invigilate for one child) so I'm aware lack of familiarity could unsettle her plus nerves from doing her first formal test! NVR was her best score but maths her lowest with English and VR just a few points different.

Yes I felt disappointed, but I wouldn't want her to be struggling and always bottom of the class. She was disheartened but felt her score was a reflection of how she did and didn't think she could have done anything different. Don't regret doing it and all the extra support we tried to do over lockdown I'm sure has still been of benefit.

It does mean that we'll be able to afford a tutor in the future for any help with school work and perhaps 'big fish in a small pond' can bring benefits too. Oh well!

Maths is broken down into sections (place value etc) but course is specified time
Gngng

Which part of Atom do I use please?

Is it the general Maths etc section or is it the ISEB course.

@GrammarHopeful very similar situation here. DS is autistic too and has very high cognitive ability but slow processing speed. One comment that has made me think a lot is that the tests will be reflective of the pace at which schools teach and that it may actually be counterproductive to overprepare for tests if it means DS then ends up in a school that goes too fast. A different person made the related point that just because a school's pace is slightly slower it does not mean that it is less intellectually challenging than a faster-paced one and that it is important to consider the mental health implications and the anxiety that too fast a pace could cause.

End result, I am certainly easing off the prep a little, in that I want the schools to have a realistic impression of DS...

I just received an email confirming the Sutton schools SET is going ahead as planned, next week.

Grammar good luck to your Ds he does sound very diligent and deserving

We’re going to give Atom a try it’s been useful to see what others have scored. We have no basis for comparison (Ds does well at school but this will help)

Thank you, @Oceane11Plus, you are very kind.

We are keeping options open, so he'll be doing ISEB pre-test at the end of the month for some of the SW London independents as well. However, preference is grammar, as fees will be a massive financial strain post-Covid.

@GrammarHopeful Your son seems incredibly mature and hard working for his age, that’s so impressive I hope everything works out for him, he clearly deserves it. I don’t know the grammar system but it seems quite digit in its admission approach, unlike independent schools which have more of an holistic approach.

Hi, @Doobiedooo. I wish you were right...

He sat SGSPTA online mock (Session P) in September and did terribly in Maths! English was ok, but not brilliant.

I think I mentioned earlier in the thread, but he has SEN (autism), which makes certain things a lot more difficult for him than neurotypical children. He has pretty high IQ (95th percentile), but relatively low processing speed, which puts him at a major disadvantage due to the punishing pace required for grammars. I've applied for special access arrangements for him, which were mercifully granted by Tiffin and Sutton (but not Kent), but still I am not holding my breath. Any time he is met with a tricky word problem or is a time sink trap, he steps right into it, and we can't seem to get over this no matter how much we try to work on it through practice. After all, rigidity of thought is a characteristic autistic trait. He won't move on until he is done, and this is always costing him: he realises he running out of time, but can't bring himself to switch to the next one. Often, this means he panics, gets tearful and generally becomes an anxious wreck He does very much want to go to a school with clever DCs, though, and is willing to work hard (and has always done so: not unusual for him to get up at 5 am to do the homework on his own).

In contrast, both ISEB pre-test and indie paper tests appear to be a little more forgiving on timing, so he's been more successful with those.

Soon enough we'll know. He run out of time at Tiffin (even with extra time), so, as I said, grammars may just be out of our reach, but I'd hate it, if we didn't try, and so would he...

@Stircrazyschoolmum Exactly, we don't get told the scores... It's going to be such a long wait for us between November and January for the second round offers.

@GrammarHopeful hi, did your son sit the Sutton mocks? And if yes, did he score very highly? I’m imagining yes with those grades? The maths is through the roof!

Does anyone know how the pretest plus mocks compare to the atom learning ones for ISEB. And also how correlated they are to the real thing.
I bought the pretest ones a while ago for DD to practice nearer the exams, but after reading the comments on here about the Atom learning, and the limited experience I have of them, I’m wondering if I should not bother. Although I have paid for them already, I just don’t want to over burden her if they are no good.