What do Eleven Plus Examinations test?

We have examinations for a number of reasons.

Examinations try to diagnose

Examinations are used to evaluate the curriculum

Examinations attempt to predict future success

Examinations assess attainment.

So if Eleven plus examinations are trying to predict future success should they also contain elements that look at attainment?

Many years ago the Eleven Plus examinations were developed in such a manner that they looked closely at what children had been taught. There was not the same emphasis on reasoning skills as there is today.

Eleven plus examinations would be fairer for some children if all eleven plus children followed the same curriculum. Some parents would want more than the `same curriculum’ for their children.

Some children would find a common eleven plus curriculum boring and stultifying. These children would need greater enrichment and stimulation.

So if the Eleven Plus examination is to be used to predict future success then we may need to find tests that ignore a common curriculum and tests that do not try to assess attainment.