11+ and Exams

[ontherainbow]

Hello everyone!

Could someone shed some light on 11+ and other exams?

Can Home ed children still take 11+ and SATS??

I am interested in this as my children were both at low levels in previous school and now they're Home Edding they're thriving!

Would like to prove a point to some very doubtful people and also would like my daughter to take 11+ as she intends to go to a secondary school, unlike my son who will be going to ASD/Bullying recovery school (hopefully!)

Thank you!

Yes! Home educated children can still sit the 11+.
If you contact the LA (for our area would be the admissions dept.), they would be able to tell you the deadline date for applying to sit the 11+ and also where they would be taking the exams (you may have to negotiate location yourself)

I don't know about the SATs - I would have thought not, since they were intended to assess the educational provision of schools rather than the attainment of the child.

I should think you could rummage up some past papers and administer it under exam conditions at home though, and mark it yourself?

Hi

If you google "SATS papers" you get lots of links for free downloads of past papers. As Saracen says you could administer the tests under exam conditions at home. Your children would not have had the same experience as school children of intensive coaching for SATS tests though, so you might be tempted to drill them or "teach to the test" if their first scores weren't as high as you hoped.

I must say though that I think it's depressing to be on the treadmill of having to prove home ed to the nay-sayers.

How do the children themselves feel about taking the tests?

Thanks everyone,

The children aren't to fussed about exams as we've always drummed into them that the world won't end because of exam results...

I should've mentioned too that the curriculum I am teaching them under, is what I intend to teach children if our proposal to set up a free school in area is accepted - so SATS results are more of a confirmation that our style of teaching works!

I certainly won't be wasting any time and effort in teaching them SATS preparation for months on end as it's only there to prove a point - to me perhaps? aswell as the nay-sayers!