The eleven-plus (11-plus) is an examination administered to some students in England and Northern Ireland in their last year of primary education, which governs admission to various types of secondary school. The name derives from the age group for secondary entry: 11-12 years. The eleven-plus was once used throughout England and Wales but is now only used in some counties and boroughs in England. Also known as the transfer test, it is especially associated with the Tripartite System which was in use from 1944 to 1976.
The examination tests a student's ability to solve problems using verbal reasoning and mathematics. The intention was that it should be a general test for intelligence. Introduced in 1944, the examination was used to determine which type of school the student should attend after primary education: a grammar school, a secondary modern school, or a technical school. The base of the Tripartite System was the idea that skills were more important than financial resources in determining what kind of schooling a child should receive: different skills required different schooling.
Within the Tripartite System
The eleven-plus was created by the 1944 Butler Education Act. This established a Tripartite System of education, with an academic, a technical and a functional strand. Prevailing educational thought at the time was that testing was an effective way to discover to which strand a child was most suited. The results of the exam would be used to match children's secondary schools to their abilities and future career needs.
When the system was implemented, technical schools were not available on the scale envisaged. Instead, the Tripartite System came to be characterised by fierce competition for places at the prestigious grammar schools. As such, the eleven-plus took on a particular significance. Rather than allocating according to need or ability, it became seen as a question of passing or failing. This led to the exam becoming widely resented by some although strongly supported by others.
Structure
The structure of the eleven-plus varied over time, and among the different counties which used it. Usually, it consisted of three papers:
Arithmetic - A mental arithmetic test.
Writing - An essay question on a general subject.
General Problem Solving - A test of general knowledge, assessing the ability to apply logic to simple problems.
Some exams have:
Non-Verbal
Verbal
Most children took the eleven-plus in their final year of primary school: usually at age 10 or 11. In Berkshire and Buckinghamshire it was also possible to sit the test a year early - a process named the ten-plus; later, the Buckinghamshire test was called the twelve-plus and taken a year later than usual.
Originally, the test was voluntary; as of 2009, some 30% of students in Northern Ireland do not sit for it.
In Northern Ireland, pupils were awarded grades in the following ratios to pupils sitting the exam: A (25%), B1 (5%), B2 (5%), C1 (5%), C2 (5%), D (55%) and there was no official distinction between pass grades and fail grades.
Current practice
There are 164 remaining grammar schools in various parts of England, and 69 in Northern Ireland. In counties in which vestiges of the Tripartite System still survive, the eleven-plus continues to exist. Today it is generally used as an entrance test to a specific group of schools, rather than a blanket exam for all pupils, and is taken voluntarily. For more information on these, see the main article on grammar schools. The largest area still operating the Eleven-Plus after the system was phased out in Northern Ireland in 2008 is the county of Lincolnshire (although the test is optional, the education system is completely Tripartite - every major town except Stamford has grammar and comprehensive/technical schools). Kent students can take the test, though generally only those who are expected to pass will do so.
Eleven-plus and similar exams vary around the country but will use some or all of the following components:
Verbal Reasoning (VR)
Non-Verbal reasoning (NVR)
Mathematics (MA)
English (EN)
In Lincolnshire children will sit the Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning, alongside their SATs which will include reading, writing and mathematics, and chosen schools will have a science test. In Buckinghamshire children sit tests in Verbal Reasoning, Mathematics and Non-Verbal reasoning. In Kent children sit all four of the above disciplines; however the English paper will only be used in circumstances of appeal. In the London Borough of Bexley from September 2008, following a public consultation, pupils sitting the Eleven-Plus exam are only required to do a Mathematics and Verbal Reasoning paper. In Essex, where the examination is optional, children sit Verbal Reasoning, Mathematics and English. Other areas use different combinations. Some authorities/areas operate an opt-in system, while others (such as Buckinghamshire) operate an opt-out system where all pupils are entered unless parents decide to opt out. In the North Yorkshire, Harrogate/York area, children are only required to sit two tests: Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning.
Scoring
The scoring used varies between different areas. As an example, in Kent, mathematics and writing are each given twice the weighting of verbal reasoning.
A pass mark is used to decide whether students are eligible for a grammar school education. Usually, the pass mark is between 121 and 160. Students who achieve the pass mark are given the opportunity to study at grammar school while those who fall below that are often not. Should a score be only slightly below the pass mark, the candidate may appeal to get into grammar school. Generally a student who scores between 121 and 130 has achieved just enough to pass. Those scoring 130 to 145 are most likely fairly able to carry on to grammar school without a problem. Students who score between 145 and 153 are considered extremely bright. Scores exceeding 153 are rare.
Passing the exam does not necessarily secure the candidate a place in the school, but those with higher scores are placed higher on the waiting list.
Northern Ireland
The system in Northern Ireland differed from that in England. The last eleven-plus was held in November 2008. A provision in the Education Order (NI) 1997 states that "the Department may issue and revise guidance as it thinks appropriate for admission of pupils to grant-aided schools". Citing this on 21 January 2008, Northern Ireland's Education Minister Caitríona Ruane passed new guidelines regarding post-primary progression as regulation rather than as legislation. This avoided the need for the proposals to be passed by the Northern Ireland Assembly, where cross-party support for the changes did not exist. Some schools, parents and political parties object to the new legal framework. As a result, many post-primary schools are setting their own entrance examinations.
Controversy
The eleven-plus was a result of the major changes which took place in English and Welsh education in the years up to 1944. In particular, the Hadow report of 1926 called for the division of primary and secondary education to take place on the cusp of adolescence at 11 or 12. The implementation of this break by the Butler Act seemed to offer an ideal opportunity to implement streaming, since all children would be changing school anyway. Thus testing at eleven emerged largely as an historical accident, without other specific reasons for testing at that age.
Criticism of the eleven-plus arose on a number of grounds, though many related more to the wider education system than to academic selection generally or the eleven-plus specifically. The proportions of schoolchildren gaining a place at a Grammar School varied by location and gender. 35% of pupils in the South West secured grammar school places as opposed to 10% in Nottinghamshire. Because of the continuance of single-sex schooling, there were fewer places for girls than boys.
Critics of the eleven-plus also claimed that there was a strong class bias in the exam. JWB Douglas, studying the question in 1957, found that children on the borderline of passing were more likely to get grammar school places if they came from middle-class families. For example, questions about the role of household servants or classical composers were far easier for middle-class children to answer than for those from less wealthy or less educated backgrounds. In response, the eleven-plus was redesigned during the 1960s to be more like an IQ test. However, even after this modification, grammar schools were largely attended by middle-class children while secondary modern schools were attended by mostly working-class children.
Passing - or not passing - the eleven-plus was a "defining moment in many lives", with education viewed as "the silver bullet for enhanced social mobility." Richard Hoggart claimed in 1961 that "what happens in thousands of homes is that the eleven-plus examination is identified in the minds of parents, not with 'our Jimmy is a clever lad and he's going to have his talents trained', but 'our Jimmy is going to move into another class, he's going to get a white-collar job' or something like that."