11+ question - no idea what pass mark is

[hiddengems]

We live in an area with state grammars, which take top 15 - 20% children.

DS is due to take test in September. He's tried a couple of past papers but I have no idea what pass mark he should be aiming for.

What would be a 'should be encouraged to take the test' level and what mark do you think would be good enough.

I know what the qualifying scores were last year but it doesn't say what the maximum score was!

There is no one 11+ test, it varies from area to area in both content, 'pass' mark and how places are allocated. Which area are you? The 'elevenplusexams' forum has a section for each area & tons of information.

In my area this year the pass mark was 294 out of 400. Of course that doesn't guarantee a place as they don't know how many will achieve higher than the pass mark.

In my area we tell parents they need to aim for 75-80% to be in with a chance.

If you live in S lincs pass mark is 220 with highest score I believe of 270 .

That's helpful. He got about 70% so worth putting him in at any rate

Thank you.

If you look on the 11 plus forum them you may get advice specific to your area.

We were told 70-75% by the head (not superselective 11 plus area)

The tests are standardised, depending on the test the pass mark can be as low as 50% if it is a really hard test. You need to find out more about the test he will be sitting and the tests he has already done. Having said that if you think that he goes to a fairly good school (ask his current school how many usually go from there) and he is on one of the top two tables, it is worth giving it a shot.

Thanks.

I thinks out a third of the boys passed last year. He's not a dead cert but worth a shot.

Sorry - that should have been 'I think about' a third