How to pass the CEM 11+ or GLA 11+ test?

The Dyslexia Scam

The most important thing is to have your child labelled as dyslexic. It is a badge of honour which entitles them to 25% extra time in all tests (11+, GCSE and A level, Oxbridge entrance exams) and best of all people viewing results will not even know. Parents can pay professionals to teach their child how to game the dyslexic test.  We recommend every parent try this strategy; else your child is disavantaged by the "dyslexics". The fairest thing to do is to give all children 25% extra time. Slow readers and "dyslexics" can finish and fast readers can check. Better still, make tests untimed. Let children spend as much time as they want. Of course  "dyslexia" is claimed to be spectrum based, hence on what basis is it even reasonable to provide 25% extra time to all "dyslexics"?  Borderline dyslexic - that's 25% extra time. Extreme dyslexic - 25% extra time. Borderline & not dyslexic - no extra time. On what basis is this fair? It is clearly unfair. Hence engage in the dyslexic scam or your child will be at a disadvantage. This is the harsh truth.

Professor of education at Durham University, Julian Elliott, claimed diagnosing a child with dyslexia is no more scientific than reading a horoscope.
 

11+ Strategy: A guide to preparation for the 11+

11+ preparation can only help to improve the chances of a higher score, especially in CEM 11+ tests. There are three main areas for 11+ studies:

1. Verbal Reasoning. Children should read a wide variety of books and material. Parents should listen to their child reading and children should be encouraged to ask what unfamiliar words mean. Parents should discuss the reading material, ask questions regarding the text and discuss synonyms and antonyms. Practise comprehension from various sources. Sats year 6 papers are useful. Practise cloze passages and jumbled up words. Familiarity with words, which have multiple meanings, is useful. For fun learning, play games and engage in activities such as Scrabble; Countdown; Hangman; word searches, and crosswords.

WordBuilder.co.uk can be used for formal vocabulary building and contains numerous word lists comprising of words that have appeared in previous 11+ tests from Cambrdige University. The site not only tests spellings, but tests words meanings using synonyms, and also tests word definitions and antonyms. For every word in a list, a child may learn 5 words without realising. The cloze passage section has ready-made cloze passages at various levels. Tests can be undertaken with missing letters within sentences (E.g. h**se for house) or actual word lists. Custom cloze passages can also be created. As with all sections, marking is automatic and online and all results are stored and can be reviewed by parents using their own login. After using WordBuilder many children find they can recognise a cloze word with missing letters and need not read the entire sentence, saving valuable time. Although WordBuilder is a useful tool, remember, there is no substitute for reading. WordBuilder also includes comprehension and jumbled up sentences. These are short tests, typically 15-minutes long, similar in duration to tests set by the CEM Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring^®. WordBuilder is a complete solution for 11+ Verbal Reasoning/English preparations.

2. Numeracy/Numerical Reasoning. Ideally, a child needs to have covered the year 6 maths syllabuses to excel at the maths section and be confident in tackling multi-step word problems. Speed is critical. There is notably a lack of quality "CEM"-style questions in the market place, as past papers are not released.

CoolCleverKids.co.uk (CCK) can be used for CEM11+® maths preparation as it covers and tests the National Curriculum. Children can learn topics they have not covered at school using CCK. They can download lesson notes, view presentations (video lessons) and undertake worksheets. Once the syllabus has been covered, they can undertake Sats styled questions by topic and then undertake Sats styled papers covering the last 12-years. They can also attempt the old level 6 tests and actual past private/independent school papers. The site has a special CEM 11+ ® maths section with some questions similar to those appearing on past papers. All questions are marked online and explanations provided, with the option of automatic correction tests. Results are stored, reports provided and performance graphs are displayed. Parents can review work from their own login as all answers are recorded. They can also create revision tests based on responses to previous questions. As CoolCleverKids.co.uk covers the National Curriculum it is suitable from year 2 to 6 and is ideal for CEM 11+ ® maths preparation. Click here for Maths Questions similar to those appearing on past papers in the above regions.

We recommend children cover the entire 11+ syllabuses, and then undertake SATS style tests on CoolCleverKids.co.uk and progress to the CEM style questions.

As part of CCK's support for the community they have produced a free maths question generator that enables random maths questions to be generated which can be printed along with answers.

3. Non-verbal Reasoning requires the least preparation. Similar material is widely available. Tests can be similar in style to Bond^®; NFER-Nelson^®, GL assessment^®, & AFN^® papers, which are all suitable for preparation. Cubes have also presented themselves in tests and this is an area where many children may struggle. Children should be encouraged to play with cubes, blocks and nets and master the rotation of cubes. Spatial awareness and logic games also help as well as 'spot the difference'. It is important to teach basic concepts of rotation; reflection; symmetry; shape; number; size; position, and shading. For ElevenPlusExams, 'practise makes perfect'