ISEB pre test scores for private and grammar schools

[AC7001]

I know it is not exact comparison, but I was recently told the corresponding ISEB scores one get on the Atom site as an indication the type of schools you can at:
Top grammar in London: At least 9988 for the 4 papers, and for some all 9's
Top private (e.g. Hampton, Latymer Upper etc): average of 8
Good private (e.g. KGS, Dulwich etc）：average of 7
Back up schools: average, i.e. 5 , suffices.

I want to know what direction my son should be going (we just start preparing now, a bit late compared with most I guess ). I know the ISEB pre-test is not quite like the actual 11+ but would it give a rough indication?

Here you go @AC7001. Both CAT and Atom scores. You will find a file at the bottom with the scores needed for each school (approximate of course).

atomlearning.zendesk.com/hc/en-gb/articles/4403019831569-What-is-a-Standardised-Age-Score-

You would have to question how Atom arrive at those scores. Take my son as an example, consistently achieved CATS at school
anywhere between 129-141. Some years he will get full marks in English, some maths. He is very bright. His Cat scores at school are overall very high but can differ up to 10-12 points per year.

Have signed him up to Atom mock just over last few months to practise a bit on his own before the ISEB for which he has had no tutoring or help from me. He has no tutor outside school. When I look at his Atom scores they are anywhere between very top and really quite low depending on whether he was trying to watch the football on the sly at the same time/just couldn’t be bothered to try. Let’s hope they don’t include someone like him in the data…

@Sunnyfreezesushi I’m also interested in how Atom got to the scores. My dd used atom for a few months before her 11+ at the start of September and then we unsubscribed. We’ll have to see if Atom contact us in due course to see if she passed. I don’t think we ever have Atom her CAT scores. The link posted by a pp is intriguing as it has the grammars in my area in the wrong order of competitiveness, so I expect their data is pretty limited.

Of course it will only be indicative, no one will have a full set of data on the ISEB including the prep school itself!

The point though is that if you are doing 110 consistently then you are probably unwise to apply to a school on the list with 125+ scores. With so many schools around, these numbers help you with your shortlist - that’s it.

Thanks for the list. Look at the wordings it said the scores are based on "average" of those given "offers". So for say Latymer Upper, the average is 118, and it must mean the minimum score for those granted offers must be a few points lower than 118, then perhaps low 110+? That seems a bit too “easy" for a top independent? Hope that is true.

I just checked my son’s mock tests. Highest score 142, lowest score 81! On the 81 he will have just clicked through answers unsupervised and been watching football. Unless the scores taken as average are proctored proper tests they mean nothing! I expect my DS will get into competitive scores and his stanines should be 9,9,9, 8 for Maths, English, Verbal and Non Verbal on the day of actual exams as that reflects his actual abilities. The mock tests he has done on Atom which are all unsupervised mean nothing - but they have been helpful as it is last minute cramming for him, getting used to format, identifying substantial weaknesses (such as grammar terminology).

That’s fantastic scores @Sunnyfreezesushi. As you say, they will score much better on the exam day compared to the mocks (as with every other exam or test in life). In my conversation with some wise people, they recommend looking at the highest scores on Atom rather than the 80s and 90s scores to get an indication of how they will actually perform on exam day. So if 141 is the highest they’ve got, you should peg them at 137-141 and aim for schools in that range. My DC is nowhere near that range, but it’s fine for the schools we are targeting.

DS has just started Year5 and we are preparing him for 11+ Grammar school entrance, specially for Surrey schools. Have a few questions please:

1. How helpful is Atom learning for Grammar school tests? I can see it’s highly recommended for ISEB, but couldn’t find much for Grammar Schools.

1. Any other online practice sites recommended? Sites which have topic wise or adaptive tests?

1. Any recommendations for tutors, centres or online classes especially for Surrey grammar schools like Willsons, Wallington County, Sutton Grammar, Greenshaw etc?

Thanks!