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STRUCTURE The structure of the eleven plus varied over time and between counties. Usually, it consisted of three papers
Most children sat the test in their final year of primary school. In certain counties, such as Buckinghamshire , it was also possible to sit the test a year early- a process nicknamed the ‘ten plus’. The test was voluntary, but it was extremely rare not to enter. CURRENT PRACTICE Eleven plus exams vary around the country but will use some or all of the following components.
In Buckinghamshire children sit just two verbal reasoning papers. In Kent children will sit all four of the above disciplines. Other areas use other combinations. Some authorities/areas operate an opt-in system, whilst others (such as Buckinghamshire) operate an opt-out system where all pupils are entered unless parents decide to opt out. IMPORTANCE The eleven plus was created as part of 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 argued that testing was an effective way of finding which strand a child was most suited for. The results from the exam would be used to match a child’s abilities and future career needs to their secondary school. When the system was implemented, the Technical Schools did not appear 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. CONTROVERSY The eleven plus was the result of the major changes taking place in British 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 imposition of such a stark break in the Butler Act seemed to offer an ideal opportunity to implement streaming, since all children would be changing school anyway. Testing at 11 emerged largely as a historical accident, without clear forethought. Criticism of the eleven plus arose on a number of grounds. Success was determined not only by ability, but by location and gender. 35% of pupils in the South West secured grammar school places as opposed to 10% in Nottinghamshire . Due to the continuance of Single-sex Schooling , there were fewer places for girls than boys. The merits of testing at 11+, when children were at varying stages of Maturity , has been questioned, particularly when the impact of the test on later life is taken into account. Children who developed later (so-called "late bloomers") suffered because there was inflexibility in the system to move them between grammar and secondary modern schools. Once you had been allocated to one type of school or the other it was extremely difficult to have this assessment changed. Areas using the exam today have recognised this concern, and offer reassessment in later years, notably at Key Stage 3 . 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 easier for middle class children to answer but far less familiar to those from less wealthy or less educated backgrounds. This criticism was certainly true of the earlier forms of the exam, and as a result the eleven plus became more like an IQ test during the 1960s. It has been argued that middle class opposition to the eleven plus rose partly as a result of this move to greater fairness. Overall, it has been suggested by some that a large number of students were unfairly treated by the eleven plus. The sociologist AH Halsey claimed that as much as one quarter of pupils were misallocated by the exam. It is generally agreed that there were problems with the eleven plus exam and even those advocating a return to the Tripartite System usually acknowledge the need to review testing methods. USE OF THE ELEVEN PLUS TODAY In counties in which vestiges of the Tripartite System still survive, the eleven plus continues to exist. Today it usually takes on the form of 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 is Northern Ireland, although it is planned to phase the exam out in 2008. For more information, see the main article on the Tripartite System . Independent schools, particularly those Direct Grant Grammars which seceded from the state system after the abolition of the Tripartite System, often model their entrance exams upon the old eleven plus. The content of the examination differs from area to area, but most children sit a Verbal Reasoning paper, many sit a non-verbal reasoning paper and some sit a mathematics paper or different combinations of all three. EXTERNAL LINKS Please note that these links are for websites against the eleven plus.
This link is for an information site about the current eleven plus system in Buckinghamshire, England.
A sample of typical 11 plus verbal reasoning and maths questions can be obtained in PDF format from.
Samples of typical eleven plus exam questions can be obtained in PDF format from
Samples of the most common Verbal Reasoning Question Types found in the 11 Plus Exams.
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