Quest Information Booklet (3)

QUEST ADMISSIONS ASSESSMENTS AT ST COLUMBA’S COLLEGE

CONTENTS PAGE

Page 3: What is Quest Admissions.

Question Admissions at St Columba’s.

How are the admissions tests performed?

Page 4: What does the assessment look like?

Sample questions.

Page 8: Accessibility How do I prepare my child for a Quest assessment?

Page 9: Will my child's Quest results be shared with me?

stcolumbascollege.org

Page 2

1. WHAT IS QUEST ADMISSIONS? Quest Admissions is a set of entry and assessment tests created by the company Quest Assessments (originally part of the ATOM Learning group).

The tests are designed to evaluate a child’s academic potential and thinking skills, rather than just curriculum recall or rote learning.

Quest work alongside St Columba’s College to create a set of bespoke entrance exams.

Some elements of the assessment are adaptive which adjusts difficulty based on performance.

Quest Admissions aims to provide a more positive and less pressurised exam experience for children while giving schools data-driven insights for admissions decisions.

Website – Quest Admissions Entry Assessments

2. QUEST ADMISSIONS AT ST COLUMBA’S COLLEGE Quest Admissions will be used across the college for admissions .

At our main entry points of 11+ and 13+.

For all ad hoc entry from 7+ through to 13+.

3. HOW ARE THE ADMISSIONS TESTS PERFORMED? Quest is primarily a cloud based solution allowing flexibility in set up and implementation of assessments. A paper solution can also be used if needed for specific candidates.

St Columba’s College perform all of the administrative set up on behalf of parents and students ahead of assessment day.

On the assessment day candidates will be given a unique access code to log in with stcolumbascollege.org

Page 3

4. WHAT DOES LOOK LIKE?

THE

ASSESSMENT

Traditional Assessment Comprises of 4 modules for; Maths, English, Verbal & Non-Verbal reasoning Duration approximately 1hr 10 (assuming no extra time or breaks) Note: that these assessments are broken down into smaller chunks or ‘modules’ on the assessment day depending on the schedule of the day.

5. SAMPLE QUESTIONS A short familiarisation test is available with approximately 3 questions per module Quest Assessments – There’s A Better Way To Assess One example question from each section is shown below.

Maths This section is adaptive so shows true “stretch” of candidates Includes a “primary Maths Challenge” element There are up to 20 questions in total Candidates are not expected to necessarily complete the whole section.

There is an extensive database of questions that this module calls on based on the candidates performance.

stcolumbascollege.org

Page 4

English The English part of the assessment is non-adaptive, so all candidates regardless of ability will see the same text and questions The text and questions used in this part will be unique to St. Columba’s College.

The types of questions included are: Reading comprehension Grammar and punctuation Vocabulary

stcolumbascollege.org

Page 5

Non-Verbal Reasoning A cognitive assessment that evaluates a child’s ability to solve problems, identify patterns and understand logic using shapes, diagrams, and images rather than language Testing visual and spatial skills to measure raw reasoning ability and abstract thinking The types of questions included are: Find the next shape in the sequence Spot which image doesn’t belong to a given set Solve problems presented with interactive diagrams and puzzles

stcolumbascollege.org

Page 6

Verbal Reasoning Assesses a child’s ability to understand, analyse, and solve problems using written information and language rather than their general language knowledge The skills tested in this section include reading comprehension, vocabulary, logic, problem solving and attention to detail.

The types of questions included are: Analogies: completing a sentence that shows a relationship between two words Synonyms and Antonyms: identifying words with similar or opposite meanings Word Grouping/ Odd One Out: Identifying the word that does not belong in a given group of words Text-Based Inference: Reading a short passage and answering true/false/can’t tell questions based only on the information in the passage

stcolumbascollege.org

Page 7

6. ACCESSIBILITY To support our SEND candidates the tool is flexible and both additional time and breaks can be scheduled as appropriate.

7. HOW DO I PREPARE MY CHILD FOR A QUEST ASSESSMENT? Whilst the following may help with developing your child’s skills and build familiarisation with format of the tool, Quest is not designed to be “revised for” as such. Internal candidates will not be specifically coached in preparation for assessment beyond what may be covered in their typical English and Maths lessons.

Quest practice questions – this will help your child become familiar with the format of the assessment as well as tools used within the assessment (particularly the puzzle and problem solving sections) Read often and widely – a broad vocabulary and exposure to various texts will support the English and verbal reasoning sections Practice logic puzzles – puzzles that involve word relationships and pattern build key skills to support the English and verbal reasoning sections Focus on comprehension of texts – practice reading short texts and extracting specific information to answer questions Practice playful problem solving – board games and logic puzzles are great tools for stretching your child’s brain and encouraging strategic thinking, (chess, connect 4, sudoku, code-breakers, Rubix cubes).

Practice on adaptive online platforms – If you wish to practice and prepare more extensively there are platforms such as ATOM Learning or BOFA that simulate a very similar format to Quest Assessments

stcolumbascollege.org

Page 8

8. WILL MY CHILD’S SHARED WITH ME?

RESULTS

BE

Will my child’s results be shared with me?

If requested, the results of any internal (SCC Prep) candidates can be shared with parents.

Due to the volume of applicants, we do not provide results or feedback for external candidates.

stcolumbascollege.org

Page 9

stcolumbascollege.org