Please talk to me about MIDYIS testing

[mustdash]

DD1 sat the MIDYIS tests last week. She seems to have enjoyed the process, and the school say they won't automatically share "results" but are happy to provide the feedback/analysis to any child and parent who asks.

I know nothing about them really, but a very quick google seemed to say they were fantastic assessment/predictors for performance going forward.

Can anyone give me an opinion? Should we get the feedback (I'm thinking more information is always better) or just pretend it didn't happen?

No harm in getting feedback. It is used to predict GCSE grades. However my DS completed it in yr 9 and his actual grades were at least 3/4 grades higher than his midyis predictions. Luckily I didn't see these predictions until after his results came out. His I was told may have been slewed by the fact that he has SEN.

"His I was told may have been slewed by the fact that he has SEN"

• yes, they would have been underestimates, because MidYIS (and YellIS) are tests which are taken without the access arrangements which candidates may be permitted at GCSE.

Also the best predictor of GCSE sucess in all subjects is the overall grade; eg. not the English sub-grade for English GCSE but the overall grade. Which I keep hoping is good news for my son, has an SEN but is very bright.
It was of value for me, because his teachers could see he had a grade which "proved" he was bright. But it is just an indicator, and a help to see who is underperforming.

Dunno much about them, the kids do though- it is discussed and targets are set based on these and other assessment measures at school review days.

Things may have changed since the posts on here from 2005 which say there are bands A-C. My daughter has just taken midyis at new school and the bands are A-D

There are four sections (each given a band from A-D with A being the highest) covering:
vocabuilary, maths, non-verbal and skills and the final column, standard score has a midyis score at the very bottom. I am not 100% on this but I think a total score in end column of 100 is average and that any child with a total of more than 130 is probably gifted and talented.
I gather the test also gives a prediction for your child's likely GCSE result based on their 1 hour midyis test. I have seen lots of info on this - it's pretty controversial - and awful I think to predict exam results years ahead based on this one piece of software/testing. Our school didn't give us any predictions - just the report of the bands and scores with a graph showing nationally standarised scores.
HTH

FWIW, I have read internet posts from quite a few teachers who say they would never allow MidYIS results to over ride their own professional opinions of a child who according to Midyis is "less able."

Some, however, say it is a good indicator of children who are very bright and doing just enough work to get through school when they could achieve a lot more.
Children could have a bad day and underperform in the one hour test (so take the results with a pinch of salt) but highly unlikely that a child could ever perform above his natural ability level in a test - so if they get a high score but are not performing well in class/exams, then look for a reason.

Finally, just in case anyone has a child about to sit MidYIS, the school told us that no child will ever finish the questions in each section - it doesn't have an end. As long as the child keeps answering, the computer will continue to throw up new questions until the time for that section ends.

Also, if your child answers a number of questions correctly it will start to give harder questions whereas if your child gets a few questions wrong in a row, it will offer them easier questions.

please could someone tell me what YELLIS is and what is the difference between that and MIDYIS? DC did MIDYIS Y7 to Y9 and on second day back in September did YELLIS we have never been told results of any of them (if there are any ) and just assumed it was something to do with tracking and targets

just in case anyone has a child about to sit MidYIS, the school told us that no child will ever finish the questions in each section - it doesn't have an end. As long as the child keeps answering, the computer will continue to throw up new questions until the time for that section ends.

but all three of mine completed theirs. So how many MidYISes are there?

It is very unusual to share MidYIS results. If the school needs to review you DD's performance later on, the school may show you the headline results. This may be because of underachievement or unrealistic expectations.

The CEM Centre baseline tests are

PIPS - performance indicators in primary schools
MidYIS - Middle years information system
YeLLIS - Year 11 information system
ALIS - Advanced level information system.

If the tests are taken online, the questions are computer adaptive. I'm not sure if there is a limit to the number of questions.

Sorry but what are these tests and when do children take them?

They are baseline tests that measure the child's aptitude rather than attainment.

MidYIS is typically performed at the start of Year 7.

The tests show strengths and weaknesses in the pupil's learning potential, so can be used by teachers to address the needs of the individual pupil. They can also be used to track progress and whether a pupil is underperforming.

When the GCSE results come out, the tests are used to calculate added value.

Busymummy3 said: please could someone tell me what YELLIS is and what is the difference between that and MIDYIS? DC did MIDYIS Y7 to Y9 and on second day back in September did YELLIS we have never been told results of any of them (if there are any ) and just assumed it was something to do with tracking and targets

Yellis produces predicted grades for each of the GCSE subjects the pupil will take. [Old MidYIS results could be used for that, but with a much lower degree of accuracy, largely because of the time gap].
Results generally come back within three weeks.
School may or may not share these predictions with pupil or parents. Often, if they do share, school may add a pinch of salt to each predicted grade: half a grade up here, half a grade down there. They should know the pupil's motivation levels, which makes all the difference.

schoolhelp said: just in case anyone has a child about to sit MidYIS, the school told us that no child will ever finish the questions in each section - it doesn't have an end. As long as the child keeps answering, the computer will continue to throw up new questions until the time for that section ends.

but all three of mine completed theirs. So how many MidYISes are there?

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As far as I know, there is only one MidYIS, although the questions change every year.

Yes, it's computer adaptive, so will throw up harder questions to those giving correct answers, repeat with similar or easier questions for those not answering correctly.

"all but three of mine competed theirs" - is that three out of a small group, or three out 20 or 30?

As I recall, it was possible to get the class out of synch if a child moved on to the next section without the OK of an adult.

There are still paper tests available.

I think daughter did these if they were the ones on computer. Thanks for explaining it. I suppose its similar to cat tests?

camptown - three of mine did theirs with their classes, so they were on three separate occasions, computerised, for each class. I've asked them again and as far as they can remember there may have been some who didn't complete, but it wasn't something they dwelt on, iyswim...

As is the usual practice with much of school, it's an "input only" event, no feedback, no explanation of how it fits into strategy on provision and no choice. So one can only assume it is for the school's benefit generally, and not for the child specifically.

If you contact CEM at Durham directly and your child is 14 or over they will send you copies of reports on your child because of the data protection act. We were very annoyed that school conducted the Midyis and Yellis tests without telling us and then wouldn't tell us what they said. The reports were really very interesting although we won't know until next year how accurate they were in terms of results.....

Thanks for the tip, Francesca! at having to use DP, but that sadly also says much about the mindset of the Head and Governing Body, I suspect. Only one of ours offered them openly, until we can switch all DCs there, we simply reciprocate culturally to the others' (all "brand leaders") interminable requests... Good luck to your DC(s).

Sorry for digging up an old thread but I'm confused about all the tests that kids do these days.

Does anyone know how Midyis scores are meant to correlate with CATS tests? Also are Midyis and CATS tests similar in content to the ISEB pre-tests that are being used more and more to pre-test in Yr 6?

MidYIS looks at three areas - vocabulary, maths, non-verbal and skills. There is an overlap of the different baseline testing methods. I like MidYIS because I can use it to inform my teaching.

Pre-tests have been standard for a long time. Most prep schools will buy in standardised tests, and they will be very similar to Bond tests that you can buy in WH Smith. They aren't quite the same as MidYIS as they don't integrate the different papers into one score and subject prediction.

The key thing with all these VR/NVR tests is that they look at the child's potential rather than the effectiveness of teaching at their prep/primary (which is what SATS do).