CATS (not the furry kind!)

[NotEnoughTime]

Hi

Could anyone enlighten me as to what CATS are please? I know what SATS are but have never heard of CATS.

My 9 year old son (year 4) has told me that he has done a CATS test today and I have no idea what it is or what (if anything!) I need to know about them.

Many thanks.

Verbal and Non Verbal Reasoning type tests, with an English reading one like comprehension and mental maths. Designed to test innate aptitude rather than learning. You can't learn for them as such although practice can help !

DS1 occasionally tells us in passing that he has done one that day (they do tehm on the computer at randome times) - they don't tell the parents when, or if, they are happening - they are for the school's own stats - we never hear any results ansd they never refer to them in reports etc.

our school do them routinely at the start of Y5 as we are in an 11+ area. Not sure if its a nationwide thing.

They say the average person will score around the 100 mark. They send a letter home that says you should be a minimum of 117 across the board (ie for each test)if you are considering selection. Most 11+ children will have had CATs scores in the 120+ mark but thats just our school, every school might be different.

our secondary school does them in Y7, 8 and 9 and uses the results for setting and making targets/predictions

Ds's prep school does them each year to track performance and also uses them to see if there are discrepancies between scores and schoolwork.

We get the results home - with an explanation which helps!

Thanks everyone.

There was a note in my sons book bag today to say that the results would be discussed at parents evening (which is being held) in a few weeks time as apparently there were over 40 calls today to the school demanding asking to know what the CATS were all about