One of the key sections for the 11 plus examination as a part of the selection process for grammar schools is math. Math will feature as a part of every 11 plus exam, and the assessment will cover much of the content that is taught throughout year 6 as well as from Key Stage 2 as a whole. This means that a lot of the math covered in the exam might not have been taught at the time that the child sits it.
Some of these questions will also be presented within worded problem-solving questions, which sometimes will have their own section. This means that as well as the child knowing how to do the maths, they also need to be able to figure out the question within a real-world context. The problem-solving questions tend to be based on real-life situations that feature characters or ask the participant to imagine that they are faced with the situation in question. For example,
The reason for the content of the test being slightly ahead of the current level of teaching is because the selection process is supposed to determine whether a child is beyond their expected level or not. Candidates for grammar schools are to be those who can cope with an advanced level of mathematics, so it is important for your child to be ahead in terms of the content they are familiar with.
Topics Covered in 11 Plus Maths:
There are several topics covered in the mathematics assessment for the 11 plus exam, and not all of them will have been covered in the curriculum when the time of the test comes. The topics include:- Algebra
- Speed, distance, time
- Ratios
- Multiplication and division
- Fractions
- Percentages
- Decimals
- Place value
- Problem-solving
- Asking a distance, speed, time question by asking the child to work out the end time of a journey based on the information given
- Asking a percentage question by posing that an item in a shop has been discounted and asking what the new price is.