AQE Exam Results

Tarquin_GL

Hello all.
Just a small contribution from a confused parent. Has anyone seen the specification for the GL Assessment test?

Golden_Anemone

BangorMum wrote: »

The uptake on the tests was great but nobody has polled us since - showing all our dissatisfaction - I dont see any forum on the GL-Assessment tests! And as for that Ruane one - smug as anything on the TV the other night when the news came through about the Catholic church plans. Would love to see her run for election again and see how she does this time!

Apparently she's standing again for the Westminster seat in South Down. Hopefully she has even less chance of getting elected than she did the last 2 times she stood. I am so looking forward to her SF colleagues knocking on my door - she's never bothered herself in the past so I suppose that would be way too much to hope for.

twiggy1_2

Hi Tarquin GL I don't think there is a specification yet - though I could be wrong. Last year in GL it was English and Maths no Science. I saw on the news that there was a meeting during the week to look at the possibility of a single assessment test for this years p6. Last year my daughter did both the GL and AQE tests. Hopefully this year there will only be 1 'type' of test. AQE was more like the traditional 11+ type paper where you write the answer down and the GL was multiple choice. Last year I went to Easons/Waterstones and bought some practice papers. At that stage there weren't any multiple choice papers available but I was working on the principle that a sound understanding of English and Maths would be very important anyway. I didn't opt for a private tutor as it was very expensive. However, I see there is a new website that has just been launched in NI that seems to be developed by a teacher with experience of teaching '11+' and it appears to cost £30 to join. thetransfertutor.com Maths would not be my strong point and I really struggled with trying to explain some of these questions. So some other help would be good but I simply couldn't afford a private tutor. Our school did not prepare children for either test. Unfortunately it is still confusing at the moment, hopefully agreement will soon be announced on a single admissions test - good luck and I hope all goes well for you.

Tarquin_GL

Ex Spendaholic. It would appear that your obsession with attacking the AQE CEA has prevented you from accurately characterising CCEA and their relationship with NFER.
CCEA are the local exams and curricular body making them unique (not in a good way) in the UK. They have no test experts at CCEA and historically relied upon NFER to manage the 11-plus. GL Assessment are an off shoot of NFER. They seem to have provided what is being accepted by many Consortium Schools as a valid and reliable test without any sign of a specification. The 11-plus had a 32 page spec., the AQE test has a spec but no specification seems to exist for the GL Assessment test. Parents reading your posts may begin to wonder what your motivation is in attempting to undermine the AQE test. Perhaps you might wish to address this important question? I'll grade your answer.

Golden_Anemone

Tarquin_GL wrote: »

Hello all.
Just a small contribution from a confused parent. Has anyone seen the specification for the GL Assessment test?

Tarquin_GL wrote: »

Ex Spendaholic. It would appear that your obsession with attacking the AQE CEA has prevented you from accurately characterising CCEA and their relationship with NFER.
CCEA are the local exams and curricular body making them unique (not in a good way) in the UK. They have no test experts at CCEA and historically relied upon NFER to manage the 11-plus. GL Assessment are an off shoot of NFER. They seem to have provided what is being accepted by many Consortium Schools as a valid and reliable test without any sign of a specification. The 11-plus had a 32 page spec., the AQE test has a spec but no specification seems to exist for the GL Assessment test. Parents reading your posts may begin to wonder what your motivation is in attempting to undermine the AQE test. Perhaps you might wish to address this important question? I'll grade your answer.

Tarquin GL - Your second post would appear to belie your first!!! :rotfl:

Good try though. Are you PACENI back under a new username?

Tarquin_GL

Twiggy1
How can a valid and reliable test be produced without a specification? I suggest that parents contact all schools operating the GL Assessment tests and ask whether the principal and the board of governors were aware when they offered the tests at their schools that no specification had been produced. What exactly did GL Assessment base their test upon and who approved it from the schools side? Remember that the Board of Governors is responsible for the actions of the school not the principal. Perhaps Patricia Slevin at Victoria College can help out since her school offered both tests and claims to have percentile rankings for pupils taking the AQE tests that the parents haven't been given. I don't recall reading anywhere that Victoria College paid for primary school pupils to take the AQE tests, I think their parents did.

Tarquin_GL

Enough of the Inspector Clouseau antics. Have you seen the specification Goldy?

BangorMum

Tarquin_GL wrote: »

Parents reading your posts may begin to wonder what your motivation is in attempting to undermine the AQE test. QUOTE]

Nobody is undermining the test from what I can see Tarquin GL! As said in previous posts - the scores/ranks were confusing. Simple points of discussion. At least the GL gave us grades and all the other information! that we are still waiting on the AQE to provide.
My child sat both and the 'spec' we were given was that it was based on Key Stage 2 English and Maths and that we could buy the papers on the GL-Assessment website.
Why at this stage are you on the attack - are you an undercover AQE person - has someone rattled your cage. We are all entitled to an opinion.

Ex-Spendaholic

Tarquin_GL wrote: »

Parents reading your posts may begin to wonder what your motivation is in attempting to undermine the AQE test. Perhaps you might wish to address this important question? I'll grade your answer.

Firstly I'm a parent myself and that is where my interest lies in all of this. Had my child not taken the AQE test then I simply wouldn't have any interest.

Secondly I have no motivation in "attempting to undermine the AQE test". I am simply (like many others on this forum) trying to make sense of the marks are children were given on 6 February. As previously stated we got marks which we didn't really understand how they stood in the grand scheme of things whereas at least with GL grades were awarded. If AQE had awarded grades then this thread may not exist - people would know if their child got an A and could hope for a grammar school or a D meaning they would most likely have to go to a secondary school. Instead we are in a situation of quintiles and not knowing, versus the kids with GL results who have their Grade As, etc and have a clearer understanding of where they are heading.

AQE seem reluctant to release any statistics or further information on marks awarded, age standardisation etc.

Thirdly I do not work for CCEA or have a detailed understanding of how they administered the 11 plus. However the fact remains that no matter what way they did it in the past, it was a trusted method and people could rely on the fact that it was being dealt with by a reputable organisation. Likewise NFER has been around for years. AQE just came out of the woodwork and yes before you say it we all knew that we were putting our kids in for an unregulated test but what where the other choices for someone wishing to secure a place in a grammar school for their child?

Forthly you can grade what you like, I'm not answerable to you or anyone else for that matter.

Lisburn_Mum_2

Oh my goodness!!!

As a parent of a child who sat the AQE exam and as stated before received a score of 97, I have found this forum fantastic because I have many concerns, worries etc. and this forum has shown me that I am not alone. The one thing we all have in common is that we all want the very best for our children.

Yes in previous years we had the luxury of a system that was well tried and tested and would have accepted the grade when in came in, if not, got a remark and lived with whatever.

The fact this year is that as parents we have been given so much responsibility to ensure our children were given this chance. I know so many parents who opted out - I personally couldnt do that! I am very lucky in that there are two excellant secondary schools in my area and I know my daughther will do very well if she does not get into grammar, we have put down Hunter House so with a score of 97 a suggested B2 she should have a good chance.

But as a parent I have questioned if so many have 98 or 99 or 100 in our area then she wont get in!! At the end of the day this is completely out of our control.

I genuinely believe that AQE made a mistake in that they did not explain the scores correctly, but overall the whole system was the best they could do. We did not experience GL and to be honest and happy that that is the case, it was stressful enough, but then again 11 plus was stressful.

I have to put my faith with the AQE system and all the grammar heads who were involved with it. After all they want the best for their schools and I dont imagine for one minute that they would have put themselves or their schools through anything that they were not happy with.

I am very proud of my daughter for the work and commitment that she put in and I am very proud of myself and her dad as parents that we tried our best for her.