Re: 11+ How was it decided?



"confusedcom" <confusedcom@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:Jc6dndDLTfmo2NfZRVnygw@xxxxxxxxx

Many years ago, back in 1967 I took the 11+.

I was told at school I had passed the test . I was not supposed to pass
the
test and I was told I would have to take more tests in school to see if I
could go to grammar school.

We all sort of knew that the only ones who would pass these tests were
those
in one class who had been taught differently and taught together four
years.
It had always been the case. I was not in that group.
Everyone in that class passed the tests and went off to Grammar School.

I was sent to SM. When I got to school I remember one of the teachers
looking at me and saying - you have an IQ of 143. I didn't know what he
meant and ignored him.

I have since found out that the 11+ was supposed to select out the top 20%
of IQ scores and send them to Grammar School ( it was on the TV - That'll
Teach 'um).
I have tried to look up what IQ score was regarded as the pass score . I
know it must be above 115 but less than 120 as far as I can work out.

But the scores also show that my IQ score of 147 is in the top 5%.

So, why did I get sent to SM?

I always wondered but no one could ever explain it to me. Seeing these
programmes has made me wonder again.
I was in the top three in my class at junior school. I could read and
write
well. I wasn't a problem in any way, that is I didn't mess around and was
not naughty. All my reports show I got A's and B's in all subjects and the
teacher said I was good. I got as good marks as those in the top class who
did go to grammar school . I did better than nearly all of them in those
tests.

So why did I pass the 11+ with such a high score and then get sent to an
SM?

My brother (elder by two years) has always made the same claim as yourself.
He says he "passed" but there weren´t enough places so he went to the
Secondary Modern School almost next door to our house. He was never given
any figure or percentage for his performance - neither was I when it came
to my turn.

My Junior School Teacher hated me (can´t think why - I´m such a nice guy).
On many occasions we didn´t see eye to eye. For example when she first took
our class and it came to reading time I began, out of habit, to walk out of
the classroom towards the library - she didn´t like this, or my explanation
that I´d finished the school Reading Scheme and was allowed (by her
predecessor) to go and get books (on my beloved Natural History) from the
library. She put me back on to the Reading Scheme - about half way through.
In maths I´d always been allowed to work out answers using my own methods.
I´d always got exceptionally high marks - usually 100% - in tests. She,
however, insisted I used her, to me quite stupid, methods and to show the
working to prove I´d done it her way! That´s just a couple of examples, I
won´t bore you with others.

On the day that the 11 plus results arrived through the post I learned I´d
passed. I was quite surprised on arriving at school to find that two of the
said teacher´s pet students had failed. The teacher arrived and announced to
the class that she was going to "guess" who had passed. She called out the
names of her favourite little "Elite Group" - the main thing these pupils
had in common was not any great intellect, more just the way they spoke. She
was mortified to learn the news from her 2 "failed" prodigies. When I
announced that I had passed, she told me to shut up, stop being stupid and
it was no wonder I hadn´t passed and people like me would never pass
*anything* because we didn´t take things seriously enough. This story
continues with my getting my just revenge when the HM came personally to
enquire why she had not sent *me* along with the others when he´d asked for
all those who´d passed to be sent to his office!

The moral of all this - well, who knows?

BTW I thought IQ tests had been rubbished as not being of any objective
value. In Zoology we were given the definition of IQ as "something that is
measured by an IQ test". My brother is far cleverer than I am in my opinion.
Sufficiently so that while I trod the academic route, he was wise enough to
join my Father´s building firm. He now travels all over the world
custom-building top class properties for the obscenely rich. A class which
he is in danger of joining if he carries on as he is!


Rob



.

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