How 11 Plus scores are worked out

What standardising means

First, the papers are marked to give a raw score: the number of correct answers. Then that raw score is compared with the scores of all the other children who sat the same test that year.

It’s also adjusted for age. A child born in August is almost a year younger than one born in September, so the same raw mark gives the younger child a slightly higher standardised score. That keeps things fair for summer-born children.

Buckinghamshire’s weighting

Each child gets a standardised score for verbal, maths and non-verbal reasoning. They’re combined like this:

• Verbal score: 50% of the final score
• Maths score: 25%
• Non-verbal score: 25%

Northern Ireland’s SEAG scores

SEAG gives a Standardised Age Score for English (or Gaeilge) and one for maths. Each runs from 69 to 141, with an average of 100. Added together they make the Total Standardised Age Score, from 138 to 282, with an average of 200.

Your child is also given a band from 1 (highest) to 6, based on where they come in the whole group. If your child misses a paper, there’s no second date: SEAG estimates their results and marks them with an “e”.

Re-marks and reviews

• Buckinghamshire: you can ask for a re-mark for a fee, though the council says errors are unlikely. If your child scored below 121, you can ask for a Selection Review by 30 October.
• Northern Ireland: SEAG re-mark requests run from 25 January to 3 February 2027 for the 2026 assessment.