A Study of certain aspects of selection for secondary education in an East Anglian county in 1966

Abstract

The chief aspects studied in the enquiry were accuracy (percentage correct) and speed (percentage attempted) in completing standardised tests taken at the age of eleven and their relationship with academic performance three years later in secondary schools. A brief review of the 11+ examination itself was included. The secondary assessments were scaled using standardised verbal reasoning tests. For larger schools, product moment correlation coefficients were calculated 'within’ schools and later 'pooled'. For samples below 25, rank-order correlations were obtained for comparison. In all 553 boys and girls in 11 modern and 6 grammar schools were studied. The table illustrates the trend of the findings:-Correlation between secondary school assessments and measures obtained from the 11+ examination. English. ‘EQ' ‘Accuracy' 'Speed'Boys (137) 0.547 0.507 0.478 (67 b.only).Girls (245) 0.411 0.358 0.283 (l40g.only). Mathematics. 'AQ'. 'Accuracy' 'Speed'Boys (195) 0.449 0.406 0.245 (67 b. only).Girls (245) 0.457 0.448 0,157 (l08g.only). The figures appear to indicate that accuracy was almost as efficient as a predictor of final order as the subject quotients and was also more closely associated than speed with the secondary rankings. A review of 70 'pairs', matched for sex, age and verbal reasoning ability at the age of eleven, gave similar indications. A study of 192 children in 2 grammar and 2 modern schools indicated consistent standards of accuracy at the age of eleven, in different tests. For comparison of the relationship suggested for 'accuracy', a brief survey was made of other correlates previously found in the assessment of attainment in secondary schools. Although the samples were small, the present evidence may well have value in 11+ 'borderzone' considerations and also for practising teachers.