Practicing Eleven Plus Test Papers At Home

Before the Eleven Plus Test

Eliminate all distractions! For instance take the phone of the hook, switch the mobile phone off, switch off the television etc.
Ensure that the environment is well lit and ventilated. On the table/desk provide sufficient clear working area plus a two a three sharp pencils and a very efficient rubber.

Timing the Eleven Plus Test

You should time your child on every test, however do not start the timing until they have read all the instructions and/or filled in all the details on the front cover of the sample practice paper. Every time you purchase a different publisher of a practice paper it is important that you read the instructions with your child.
Most practice papers are of 50 minutes in duration, however if your child has not finished at the end of 50 minutes then draw a ring around the question number that they are on, and then let them carry on. This way when you come to mark you will know how many questions they got right in the time allowed and furthermore your child would have been able to attempt every question.
At the end of each test you should be able to assess their progress in terms of speed, accuracy and technique.

Multiple-Choice Eleven Plus Tests

Usually the answers are entered in specially provided answer sheets (sometimes tear out) or booklets.
In most cases of secondary selection entrance exams, answers are marked by computers and therefore it is important for your child to get into good habits ahead of the actual exam, in particular mistakes should be carefully rubbed out NOT crossed out. If the practice paper has candidate number, school name, raw score, standardised score etc on the cover you can generally ignore this, though it is a good practice that your child is familiar with the actual layout he or she may face on the exam day.

Standard Eleven Plus Test

Usually these are question booklets where the answer is written directly into the question booklet.
Encourage your child to write clearly the answers clearly and to note down the units (e.g. cm, m, km etc). In mathematics they should show their workings as far as possible, especially in questions that may have more than one step. It is important that the workings are legible for both the examiner to read, but also for the child to be able to quickly check questions at the end if they have time to review them.
You child should not stray past the right had margin on each page as this is typically where the examiners will note their marks and comments.

11 Plus Exam Advice

Listen carefully to all the instructions. There might be some you weren't expecting – know exactly what is expected of you.
Fill in your personal details carefully.
Read ALL the instructions, and check how many questions you have to answer.
Allocate your time, including enough to read through the 11+ paper at the start, and time to plan your answers and check them through at the end. You might want to allocate more time to those questions that carry greater marks.
Choosing questions that seem easiest for you to do first will end up saving time for the ones which are more difficult.
Read the question carefully, answer the question that is on the 11+ exam paper even if it is not quite the one you had prepared for.
Be strict with your time. You can always go back to a question at the end, but remember, if you don’t answer enough questions you can’t score many marks.
Keep working…if you get stuck on a problem, think about it for a minute or two but if you still can think of how to work it out move on to the next question.
Try and put something down for every question or problem, as you never know where you might be able to get marks.
Try to keep your work neat so that the 11+ examiner can give you marks instead of zero because what you wrote can’t be read.
If you feel yourself beginning to panic, whether you’re sweating or beginning to hyperventilate, put down your pen, close your eyes for a moment or two and relax your muscles. Once you feel calmer, you can continue.
Check your answers if you have time at the end of your paper.
Make sure you’ve at least attempted to answer every question, and all the parts to the question if it was a long one. This also helps to sort out any silly mistakes.
In a maths paper for example, always check the question for UNITS (meters, seconds etc), AREAS, VOLUMES and give the answer using those same units, making conversions if necessary before/after the calculation.
Just in case, go to the toilet beforehand as you will not be given extra time at the end!
 
Dos For Parents

•    Do encourage your child to do their best.
•    Do explain mistakes after a test.
•    Do show appreciation when your child does well.
•    Do give your child a 5-10 minute break regularly.
•    Do try and keep quiet when your child is working.

Don'ts For Parents

•    Don't stay on the same subject everyday.
•    Don't get angry on the child.
•    Don't tell the child the answers.
•    Don't keep the answers near the child.
•    Don't put the child down.

Dos For Children

•    Do try your best even if you don't know the answer.
•    Do concentrate on your work.
•    Do have fun, think of the test as a challenge and not a chore.
•    Do ask for help when you are not sure of something when revising only!
•    Do check your work after a test.
•    Do eat a proper breakfast before an exam.

Don'ts For Children

•    Don't get stressed if you can't get an answer.
•    Don't get over excited or over confident.
•    Don't cheat during mock tests because it won't help you in the real thing.
•    Don't leave revision until the last minute.
•    Don't eat chocolate before an exam.

Dos

•    Remember to pack your glasses if you wear any and your inhaler if you use one.
•    Wear proper clothes to your exam, for example; school uniform.
•    Check if pencils and erasers are already provided.
•    Pay attention to the rules – i.e. no talking during an exam. If a teacher suspects anybody of cheating, everybody’s exam paper will be disqualified!
•    Remember that these tests are only for finding the right school for you – not about being a failure, aged 11!
•    Let the school know if anything is preventing you to get to the test on time.

Don'ts

•    Take a calculator for your Maths test.
•    Take the exam if you are ill or if something urgent has come up. Let the school know and they will usually make allowances for the test to be taken later.
•    Arrive late – you probably won’t be allowed to sit the test.
•    Feel pressured as that will stop you making the most of your potential.
•    Worry if you have special needs as teachers there will be able to make sure you’re not uncomfortable.
•    Encourage your parent to come in through the school gates with you! You’ll settle down much more quickly if you leave them in the car.