CAT's tests...confused.

[anklebitersmum]

DS1 has had a letter (arrived today,hand addressed) re CAT's tests which start this this week.
Bit confused as everything I read says it's for assessing under-achievers or part of pre-intake tests but he was a yr6 5a & 5b student across the board.
School very vague...comments/info gratefully received :0)

Aren't CAT tests the ones a bit like 11+ - Verbal reasoning, Non Verbal Reasoning? And used by secondary schools to band children?

No, most schools would test every Y7 with CATs test. (If the school uses CATs)

It's no big deal at all. Put on their file and never looked at again I believe :)

They are Cognitive Ability Tests and consist of Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning (maths).

The average score nationally is 100, the maximum is 141 and anything above 130 is "Gifted & Talented". They are standardised for age.

Many schools use them in Year 7 to assess children's baseline ability. They help to identify mis-matches (a child with dyslexia might score very low on Verbal, but highly on the other tests), SEN and also to identify children who are under-performing. A child with e.g. an average CAT score of 130+ who is 150th in a year group of 180 is not living up to their ability.

You shouldn't prep for the tests and you may not be given the results, but you are entitled to ask for them.