11 Plus Academic Assessments

How do I know which is the right school for my child?

These are the questions we hear so often from parents who contact us and the questions that our Academic Assessment is designed to answer. Parents know the commitment and investment school entrance exams require and the strain they can put on the whole family. They want to check that their child is a good candidate and will not be unduly pressured to reach the standard required by some competitive Independent schools. Our Academic Assessment generates a wealth of data that answers these questions and more. The test can be taken from Year One onwards, but most of our students take it in Years Four or Five.

Following the Assessment, we can give you clear guidance on which schools will be in the right banding for your child, including aspirational options. We can also clearly pinpoint where your child needs to improve and where they are on track, with targeted solutions for any development areas.

Mentor Education’s 11 Plus Academic Assessment

Mentor Education is one of a few education consultancies licenced to offer assessments by CEM, created in partnership with Cambridge University’s Education Research Department. CEM assessments are used by over 70% of Independent Schools in the UK (and many International Schools) as the exam board for their admissions tests. Also sometimes known as INCAS tests, many schools use them to track their pupils’ progress annually. The CEM test allows scoring against peers in the UK, as well as international students on the British curriculum.

Reasons we particularly like the CEM test include:

Digital – the test can be completed remotely and in classroom settings here at Mentor Education

Adaptive – the difficulty of test questions adapts during each module based on how the child is getting on so they never feel the test is too difficult for them

Diagnostic – there is no pass or fail, just lots of useful data for parents

Big – giving access to the largest pool of student data in the UK and the most meaningful results.

For British children the Mentor Education Assessment generates a diagnostic profile of a child’s reading, spelling, Maths and mental arithmetic, Verbal and Non Verbal Reasoning, facilitating full literacy and numeracy acquisition. Combined with Mentor Education’s 40+ years of experience and up to date information on independent school admissions, we can signpost future schools and provide an action plan for school entrance campaigns such as 7+, 11+ and 13+.

For International children planning to enrol into British schools, Mentor Education Assessments help compare their academic performance against their peers in the British Education system. This helps navigate parents to the correct British schools to target. With CEM being used in many admissions tests in top British independent schools, there is an added benefit of forecasting the chances of successful results in admissions tests.

What is tested in our 11 Plus Academic Assessments?

Mentor Education’s 11 Plus Academic Assessments are carried out in modules that a student can work through in any order and take breaks in between.

The Modules include: Reading, Spelling, Mathematics, Mental Arithmetic, Developed Ability (Reasoning) and Attitudes to Learning.

All modules are adaptive which means that the questions become increasingly harder or easier, depending on how many questions the student is getting right or wrong. Thus, the assessment never feels too difficult or too easy and is usually an enjoyable, stress free experience for students. The level of sophistication in the test algorithms gives really accurate and detailed feedback for each pupil.

What is in the report and in the meeting you have after your child completes the 11 Plus Academic Assessment?

Age Equivalent Scores. These provide an age at which the student is performing in each module relative to their actual age

Standardised Scores. This provides a score relative to an average score with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15. This means that 68% of all pupils will have a score between 85 and 115 Pupils below 70 or above 130 are exceptional and are in the bottom or top 2% of the pupils sitting the assessments respectively.

Academic Potential Scores. These tell us about your child’s innate potential across two measures which broadly correspond to either Maths or English

Academic Attainment Scores. These tell us about how your child is actually performing in English, Maths and Mental Arithmetic and then breaks this down into the component parts of each of those subjects.

Analysis of the results. This is done by a qualified teacher offering practical advice, support and next steps

Summary by an Educational Consultant. Additionally, we can give you optional signposting of school choices with our more premium package.

A meeting with our Educational Consultant. Here we discuss and explain the results.

You will receive a detailed report of the results of the Academic Assessment approximately 5 – 10 working days after the assessment date. The report will give you a detailed breakdown of their performance in each module as explained above. Furthermore, we will also provide practical ways to support your child’s attainment in each area, relevant to their recent performance on the test.

If there is a particular reason for the Academic Assessment, we can expand on the test scores to answer specific questions that you have. For example, we can suggest schools for you to visit which correlate to your child’s academic potential, either for primary or secondary school. We can also band their results relative to popular schools if we know them sufficiently well.

This assessment is not intended to be used to provide a diagnosis of specific learning difficulties such as Dyslexia. However, the comprehensive nature and quality of the information provided in Mentor Education Assessment can provide a great deal of contextual information about a pupil for an SEN practitioner to utilise.

At Mentor Education, we never tutor for the sake of it and if, following an Assessment, we can see your child is on track and performing in line with their potential we will be honest about this and recommend that no tutoring is necessary for the time being.

What is required for the Assessment (technical)?

To conduct a Mentor Education Academic Assessments you will need:

A stable internet connection (the whole test is done online)

The latest version of Google Chrome browser installed on your PC or laptop

Adobe Flash Player allowed/enabled

Audio Speakers, Keyboard and Mouse that are working as expected.

How much do Academic Assessments cost?

The Mentor Education Assessment costs £495 (or £795 with the school signposting) and this includes the cost of the test itself and a full report including:

A detailed explanation of what your child has been tested on

Your child’s results

Commentary and practical suggestions from a qualified teacher

Commentary and a meeting with one of our Education Consultants.

You can book an assessment on our website, or contact our team who will guide you through the process.