CAT tests in Year 7 - can anyone tell me about them?

[CocktailQueen]

DD is in Year 7 and we got her CAT test results back yesterday.

Do they have any significance? What do they really measure (apart from being used as a benchmark for setting levels)? What did each test measure? Verbal reasoning - can anyone give me examples? Qualitative reasoning?

Thanks!

No significance, help to inform initial setting.

Also help to inform SLT whether this is an 'able' cohort or less able which means they know 5 years in advance whether on average GCSE results should be better or worse than usual.

Ignore any 'predicted GCSE grades' you may be shown, they really are a stab in the dark, averaged etc. Not specific to your child.

Can you ask your child what the tests were?

They are the "we know that primary heads game the tables, lets see what the kids actually know" test

perfectly normal : very useful for setting through secondary

ignore the levels : they are statistics not personal

They are useful if your child scores well on them as they demonstrate a level of potential natural ability, which means if the child is currently underperforming, they'll get pushed more.

Some schools use them to flag children as g & t (above actual attainment).

Some schools are very interested in spiky profiles (ie one score much higher than an other) and flag these children up to make sure children don't do worse in a subject than they should, ie. high non-verbal reasoning score with low verbal reasoning score, they'll track the child to make sure they don't underperform in tech or maths, say, just because of weaker reading skills.

That sort of thing.

We were told they give another opinion of where your child's ability lies as SATs can be trained for to a certain extent. Also told it gives a snapshot of GCSE predicted grades, but I'm taking that with a pinch of salt.

WElcome to secondary : they get tested every half term for the next 7 years

They helped to flag up a potential SEN in dd when she got an exceptionally high score in one area but significantly lower in another area.

Teen - asked dd about it but she didn't say much, just that they were done on computer and they were like the 11 plus ones.

Talkin - great, will look forward to that!

Also got level targets for dd for the end of this year, Year 8 and KS3. Have to get my head around the new 1-9 levels. Arghh.

Thanks, all - v helpful :)

Mine got tested every half term from yr2, I thought it was considered best practice. Let's them frequently move ability groups possibly. If anything, It seems like they get important assessments only about half as often in secondary.

DD got predicted a 9 in something which is a lot of pressure (argh).