MidYIS/Yellis ?

[morethanpotatoprints]

What are these tests and at what age would children take these exams?
I have seen them listed but don't know at what stage they are used.

Also what subjects they cover, are they NC questions etc.

Any info gratefully received.
Many thanks.

My school does Midyis in Y7, Yellis in Y10 amd Alis in Y12. It is baseline testing. We use it to check setting, keep track of any underperformance and to work out added value at GCSE and A level.

The questions are in 3 parts for Midyis; mathematical reasoning, verbal reasoning and spatial reasoning. There are sample questions online if you Google.

Thank you Cerisier.
That is very helpful

and what is Incas then and are they all marked the same way? i.e CATS and Incas scores ?

I have never heard of Incas, but had never heard of the others either.

Do many schools do these tests and are they mainly used in State or Private?

I have experience of CATS in senior school and of course SATS.
I also know that different levels of the plusses are offered e.g 11+ but that's about it.

The ones I asked about were on a particular schools website, but no other details given, since googling I found quite a lot. .

There are probably tons of these tests we don't hear of unless they affect our dc.

i have heard of some prep schools using INCAS...i think they measure things like reading levels, quantitive reasoning/numeracy and ability to learn...similar to CATS I think but not sure about the scoring.

Incas only up to yr 11, bit like MIDYIS, as also done by Durham uni, more detailed info though in terms of reading and maths ages.

Age 11, not yr 11 - oops!

CATS are common in state and private schools both in primary and secondary. dc did them in Y5 Y7 and Y8. They also did Yellis in Y10 and 11 and Alis in Y12

INCAS, SATS, CATS...wonder why all schools don't just use one national test for testing reading, reasoning, maths levels etc.

Schools have to pay for the use of CATS (cognitive ability tests). One name for many tests covering many age groups. They are developed and sold by Granada Learning, a commercal firm.

Schools also have to pay for the use of INCAS/MidYIS/Yellis/Alis (each corresponds to a different age group). I suspect these are more expensive than CATS, as the tests are updated and restandardised regularly (annually?). They are developed by the CEM centre, a commercial offshoot of Durham University.

Both kinds of tests are used as baseline tests. Cerisier and Trinity have explained the reasons behind their use. I understand they have better predictive ability than the NC levels demonstrated in SATS, although with Gove's latest - progress only to be measured in NC levels - their use might diminish, which would be a shame.