Does the U.K. use Placement Tests for their Public School Students?
My area of England still has the 11+ test which kids take in the last year of primary school. Those that pass go to grammar school, the rest to the local secondary modern. The council calls these comprehensive schools but they are not fully comprehensive when the most Intelligent 1/3 of the pupils do not attend. Many children have private tutors to help them pass the exam which means that bright children from poorer families can loose out on a place to someone not as bright but who has been trained how to pass the exam. It also depends on how you do on one day in your educational life – if you are not good in exam situations or are feeling unwell that day, tough, you fail. It is a very unfair system as the 1/3 who pass get 2/3 of the choice, for example, if you pass, in my area, you have the choice of about 5 grammar schools but if you fail or don’t take the test, you actually have no choice as all the secondary modern schools are over stretched and will take the kids living nearest. I
