What’s the difference between GL and CEM exam boards for 11+?
Overview
The 11+ exam is a crucial assessment taken by students to determine their eligibility for grammar school admission. The two popular 11+ exam boards that offer the 11+ exams are GL Assessment and CEM (Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring). While both exams aim to assess a student’s academic ability, they differ significantly in their format, content, and scoring. So then, what’s the difference between GL and CEM exam boards?
Format of the Exams
One of the primary distinctions between the GL and CEM exams lies in their format. GL Assessment follows a traditional exam format. Students are presented with a set of multiple-choice questions covering subjects such as Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning, Mathematics, and English. This format is generally timed and structured, providing students with a familiar exam environment. On the other hand, the CEM exam board adopts a more dynamic and adaptive approach. CEM assessments are designed to be tailored to each student’s ability level. Instead of following a fixed pattern of questions, the CEM exam adapts its difficulty based on how well a student performs. This means that as a student answers questions correctly, the subsequent questions become more challenging, and vice versa. The adaptive nature of CEM exams aims to provide a more accurate assessment of a student’s true ability and potential.
Content of the Exams
The difference between GL and CEM exam boards also lies within their content. The GL Assessment tends to include a broader range of question types, particularly in the Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning sections. These question types may involve vocabulary, spatial reasoning, analogies, and pattern recognition. In contrast, the CEM exam board focuses more on assessing core academic skills, such as comprehension, problem-solving, and mathematical reasoning. CEM exams may include more traditional comprehension passages and mathematical problem-solving scenarios.
Scoring and Results Interpretation
The scoring and results interpretation methods for GL and CEM exams are also distinct. In GL Assessment, a raw score is usually provided, reflecting the number of correct answers. The raw score is then converted into a standard score or percentile rank, indicating a student’s performance relative to their peers. On the other hand, CEM exams often use a scaled score system. The scaled scores are designed to account for the adaptive nature of the exam, allowing for fair comparisons between students who have faced different question sets.
Test Availability
Another important difference is the availability of the tests. GL Assessment are standardised 11+ test papers that can be purchased and used by various grammar schools across different regions. These standardised tests ensure consistency in the assessment process. In contrast, the CEM exam board customises their assessments for individual schools. This means that each school using the CEM exam may have a unique test tailored to their specific admissions criteria and requirements. As a result, CEM exams can vary significantly between different grammar schools, making it challenging for students to prepare for a specific format.
In summary, the GL and CEM exam boards for the 11+ assessment differ significantly in their format, content, scoring, and test availability. GL Assessment follows a traditional exam format with multiple-choice questions. Whereas, CEM exams are adaptive and tailored to each student’s ability level. The content of the exams also varies, with GL Assessment focusing on Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning. However, CEM exams emphasise core academic skills. The scoring and results interpretation methods are also different, with GL providing raw scores converted to standard scores. On the other hand, CEM using scaled scores to account for the adaptive nature of the exam. Both exam boards have their advantages, and the choice between GL and CEM often depends on the preferences and criteria of individual grammar schools.
