What are the SEAG scores and what do they mean?
What are the SEAG scores and what do they mean?
The SEAG (Schools' Entrance Assessment Group) provides five outcomes for every pupil who sits the SEAG Entrance Assessment. These outcomes provide information that academically selective schools use when applying their Year 8 Admissions Criteria. Here's an explanation of each outcome:
1. TSAS (Total Standardised Age Score):
- Calculation: TSAS is determined by adding a pupil's English/Irish SAS to their Maths SAS.
- Range: The highest TSAS is 282, and the lowest is 138. An "average" TSAS is 200.
- Interpretation: TSAS does not represent the percentage of correct answers. It indicates how a pupil performed compared to other pupils who took the assessment.
2. Band:
- Distribution: Pupils are categorised into different bands based on their TSAS.
- Bands: The top 40% of TSAS falls into Band 1, the next 10% into Band 2, and so on. Band 6 covers around 20% of pupils who are not in the top 5 bands.
- Interpretation: Bands provide a relative ranking of a pupil's performance within the overall group of students who took the assessment.
3. Cohort Percentile:
- Definition: The cohort includes all the pupils who sat the assessment across Northern Ireland.
- Interpretation: The higher the percentile, the better a pupil has achieved compared to all pupils. For example, a pupil in the 80th percentile performed better than 79% of all pupils and worse than 20%.
4. English/Irish SAS and Maths SAS:
- Range: The highest SAS for English/Irish or Maths is 141, and the lowest is 69. An "average" SAS is 100.
- Interpretation: SAS provides an individual score for English/Irish and Maths separately. An average SAS of 100 indicates a midpoint performance, with 50% of pupils scoring 100 or more in each subject.
In summary, the TSAS, Band, Cohort Percentile, and English/Irish SAS and Maths SAS are outcomes of the SEAG Entrance Assessment that help schools evaluate and compare the performance of students applying for Year 8 admission. It's important for parents, guardians, and students to understand these outcomes in the context of the assessment and the specific criteria of the schools to which they are applying.
What score does a child need for a particular school?
The information provided above makes it clear that predicting the specific TSAS or Band required for a pupil to gain a Year 8 place in a particular school for September 2024 is impossible. Several factors contribute to this unpredictability:
1. Varied School Criteria: Each school sets its own criteria for admission, and these criteria may include TSAS, Bands, or other factors. The required scores can vary significantly from one school to another.
2. Parental Choice: Parents choose the schools to which they want to apply for their children. The number of applicants and the distribution of TSAS and Bands among them cannot be known in advance.
3. Limited Places: The number of available places in academically selective schools is finite. Historically, some schools may have only been able to admit students with higher AQE or PPTC scores, while others may accept a broader range of outcomes.
4. Unknown Applicant Outcomes: Schools do not know how many pupils will apply each year, and they are unaware of the SEAG outcomes these applicants will have. This makes it challenging to set specific admission criteria in advance.
5. Historical Data: While historical data can provide some comparisons between SEAG, AQE, and PPTC outcomes, these are only estimates and guides. The circumstances may change each year.
6. Overall Availability: There are academically selective places in SEAG schools, but they may only cover approximately 65% of all pupils who sat the SEAG Entrance Assessment. This further emphasizes the competitive nature of the admission process.
In summary, due to the variability in school criteria, the choices made by parents, and the limited number of places available, it is impossible to provide a specific TSAS or Band requirement for admission to a particular school in September 2024. Parents are advised to refer to the admissions criteria of the schools they are interested in and consider the unique circumstances of each school.
This information is provided in good faith and may contain errors. Check all details with SEAG or your chosen shool.