We have done some test papers this summer for the 11 plus. When marking the 80-85 questions there never seems to be any guidance as to what a "pass" mark score would be. I appreciate that more than just the answers are taken into account when the actual papers are marked but how am I to judge where we are when it comes to the practice papers? She could get anything from 75 out of 85 to 83 out of 85 and the same ratio in the papers with just 80 questions. We make silly mistakes like missing out whole chunks and then get all the questions she has done correct. Where are my markers???? I am stressing and I have a feeling she is getting a bit too laid back!! We have not over done things this summer as she has always scored in the 130's in her yearly vr tests at school, but now I am panicked!!

I don't know if this info about Trafford helps:

This is what each schools exam consists of:

www.11plus.co.uk/wiki/11_Plus_Exams_in_T...d#Examination_Format

This is the pass mark for each school (from Wikki):

Pass mark
School Pass Mark
Altrincham Boys School 334
Altrincham Girls School 334
Loreto Girls School 315
St Ambrose Boys School 315
Sale Grammar School 353
Stretford Grammar School 353
Urmston Grammar School 353

The pass mark may vary slightly from year to year.

This is probably not what you want to hear, but there is no exact way you can convert your score on a practice paper at home to the standardised score your child will achieve in the real exam.

Remember that there are only a certain number of Grammar School places available each year and the number of children competing for those places can also vary each year. The important thing is to determine how well your child did compared to all the other children. If your child is in the top 15% (not an exact figure but a reasonable guideline from what we hear) compared to everybody else then they are likely to pass. This is why we provide the percentile rank on the feedback from our 11+ mock test days. If your child's percentile rank is above 85 then they scored better than 85% of people taking that same test and are likely to pass.

Because pretty much ALL entrants are getting some form of coaching for the 11+ nowadays, the level of competition is higher (that's a good thing btw - makes the test fair). I think it will eventually mean that the test has to become harder, but that's another story.

This sounds like a stupid thing to say, but unless your child is scoring 100% in every practice paper, there is still room for improvement. Keep practising steadily but don't overdo it. Be supportive and caring and let your child know that you love them and will always love them whatever the outcome of the test. Just work on keeping them calm but, at the same time, excited to do their best.