My DS was at an academically selective school from 4. I was totally thrown by the assessment, I thought it would just be observation while he played. It was a full on visual test, I can’t remember the name of it. He refused to speak throughout but was happy to point to the answers. As we were leaving down a narrow set of stairs he turned to me and said “ these stairs are a bit steep mummy” at which point the assessor was delighted. The test was done just after he turned 3, his speach was advanced at this age but he was a bit selective about who he would talk to.
He was accepted and started 10 mnths later. At his first parents evening the assessor ( head of preschool) gushed about how high his score was in the test and that she considered him very bright.
I was always slightly suspicious of his results but he left primary school as a natural all-rounder. They had to do a further entrance test to join the senior school, when I asked his form tutor if she thought he would pass it she replied that if he didn’t get in then they would be seriously worried about the rest of the year.
Through senior school he comfortably coped with the work load. I waited for him to hit the wall that other parents described but he never did. He rarely struggled with homework or day to day work but is lazy so worked just hard enough to attain the grades he needed at A level.
He is the student who will attend just enough lectures to get by but will sail away with a first on graduation. I have always been an advocate of working comfortably within your capabilities. I was the same and as a result have worked in a high stress profession without the overwhelming stress some colleagues have experienced.
What these entrance tests do is to look for natural ability before you can coach and tutor them. From experience they are fairly accurate and allow the school to pick out those who have the “IQ”, not a term i favour, to keep up with the accelerated and enhanced learning they often provide. What they don’t do is identify learning difficulties such as dyslexia and processing problems. A number of DS’s friends were very bright but struggled at times. Fortunately the school had a very supportive SEN policy and picked up problems early on. Parents were given plenty of notice and advice before making choices on senior education. They were also well supported by the SENCO department within the school.
DS had a form of childhood epilepsy which is known to affect cognitive ability. They quickly identified that he was struggling more than expected in maths. Prior to the onset of the seizures he had been way ahead. This was monitored throughout his time at school and although he dipped he didn’t drop below average. He grew out of the epilepsy and school assessed him in 6th form ( looked at processing and language) but felt he was still performing well above average so didn’t need extra time in exams. He wouldn’t have taken it anyway, he felt it was cheating, I think a lot of children were being assessed at the request of parents to try and boost grades. Epilepsy, or a history of it, is the one condition that automatically qualifies you for extra time.
DS continues to amble along but performs well under pressure because he has had a good secondary education. It would have been nice to see him fulfill his true potential but looking back on my educational cohort at uni the hard workers and high flyers have not achieved any more than I have. It is actually the laid back amblers that have shone brightly in the profession.