CATs score in top schools

[ramennoddles]

What kind of scores would be expected at a highly selective school? Do CATs truly show potential? Why does the 11+ use reasoning?

"borderline score on the entrance exam" would be more appropriate in the last paragraph than "poor score".

@Jaxx Thank you so much for posting your DS's scores. When I talked to DS's school they assured me that CAT scores don't change much at all, "maybe 5 or 6 points but that's it".

DS got very low spatial similar to your DS's for his CAT score. So I thought well that's it then. But another Mum posted a while back and wrote something very similar to what you've written, low scores across the board. She said they didn't do anything specific but just carried on with 11+ work, English and maths mostly and in the end he got 141 on quant and very high on all the others.

My DS's other scores also were similar to your DS's. It's given me hope that he might be able to pull upwards. He's a bright boy but is slow to get things sometimes. It's a strange combination because sometimes it's like he's all there and other times he misses the simplest of things.

I'm very glad to hear sciences going so well too for your DS with the low spatial. Again, gives me hope.

CAT4 test scores have an 0.81 correlation with GCSE results, so they are a very good guide for how a student will perform on GCSE tests. The research of 70,000 students in England supports this.

www.researchgate.net/publication/222403422_Intelligence_and_Educational_Achievement

Interesting. Although, is it not true to say that in schools (state), they use CAT4 results to set students and to provide them with a flight path. If the schools don't show the progress in line with this path, they will deploy extra resources/support and students themselves would presumably be sensitive to predictions/expectations so likely a degree of self-fulfilling prophecy at play too.

@lightattheendofthetunnel2021

Interesting. Although, is it not true to say that in schools (state), they use CAT4 results to set students and to provide them with a flight path. If the schools don't show the progress in line with this path, they will deploy extra resources/support and students themselves would presumably be sensitive to predictions/expectations so likely a degree of self-fulfilling prophecy at play too.

@lightattheendofthetunnel2021 that is possible that there's some self-fulfilling going on. However, it depends on what the study I refer to controls for. If the regressions control for extra resources, then it should not overly influence the resulting correlations. Also, if schools put extra resources behind all students (not just ones with strong CAT results) then perhaps the ones currently not getting extra resources would perform better on GCSEs. That said, how much would they close the gap? I don't know. I suppose you could run the analysis and only look at independent prep school students and if the correlations still hold true. Intuitively, is it really that much of a stretch to say that an 11 year old child that does really well on one test will 5 years later also score really strong results on another test?

Are CAT score hurdle rates changing in Central London as the number of applications increase?

There were 500 sitting SPGS second round this year, 1400 for LU, and it goes on; FHS had 600 interviewed for 60 places….. some with CAT scores 135+ did not get interviews at SPGS. I know anyone below 130 did not get interviewed at G&L and some with 135+ scores didn’t (probably flunked the ISEB). At CLGS only girls 135+ got into 2nd round exam. Interesting that girls with CATs 130- got Wycombe Abbey places.