Eleven plus
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The Eleven Plus is an examination given to students aged 11 since about 1944 in some parts of the United Kingdom to select whether they go to a grammar school or to a secondary modern. The test examines the students ability to solve problems using verbal and non-verbal reasoning.
Counties or areas still using the eleven plus include:
- Bexley
- Berkshire
- Birmingham
- Buckinghamshire
- Devon
- Dorset
- Essex
- Gloucestershire
- Greater Manchester
- Kent
- Lancaster
- Lincolnshire
- Medway
- Northern Ireland support for eleven plus is due to end in 2008
- North Yorkshire
- Trafford
Controversy
The test is somewhat controversial, and in most parts of the country has been abolished in favour of the comprehensive school system; however it still remains in places. The percentage of students passing the exam in each area can vary vastly, with grammar schools in Northern Ireland having an intake of ~20% of all students taking the exam, and similar schools in Essex accepting a single figure percentage. Due to this disparity league tables can look very biased towards particular areas and direct comparison on results alone can lead to ambiguous conclusions.
It is argued that forcing children to take exams at the age of eleven, which results appear to strongly influence their future development, is unfair. This is due to the ages at which different children mature mentally. To counter this, many grammar schools offer supplementary exams allowing pupils to enter at later dates throughout their secondary schooling.
Recent arguments about the influence of social class in pass rates of eleven plus exams have persuaded the Northern Ireland Education Authority to implement the phasing out of eleven plus examination within its region, with the last intake due to take place in 2008 [1] (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/3429541.stm). Factors inherent in an unfair advantage to particular social classes may include affluent families access to guides and tutoring for the exam that financially worse off families may not be able to afford.
Other criticisms against the eleven plus include the stress that such an important exam places on the children taking it. The sense of failure at such an early age has been seen as an unnecessary and destructive force.
Indeed, many believe that simply separating children into castes, or levels of 'apparent ability', is unfair and unnecessary.