What is a good standardised score?

Why is there no single "good" score?

Parents often hear a qualifying score from one area and assume it is a general target. It is not. Each published number belongs to one test in one area. Before you can judge any score, you need to know:

1. Which scale it is on. Some tests report one score per paper. Others add the papers together, so the total is roughly double or treble the size.
2. What the area does with it. Some areas set a qualifying score. Others put children in score order. Some do both.
3. What the school does next. Reaching a standard usually makes a child eligible. The school's admission rules, such as distance or catchment, then decide who is offered a place.

A score that is comfortably enough in one area can be far short in another, simply because the scales differ. That is why we keep each area's figures on its own page rather than giving one national answer.

What is the average 11+ score?

Where a test is built around 100, the middle of the group sits close to 100. The official statements say this in different ways:

• In Northern Ireland, each SEAG subject score runs from 69 to 141, average 100Source for SEAG (Northern Ireland): score range for each subject (standardised age score, SAS)SEAG (Northern Ireland): score range for each subject (standardised age score, SAS)CloseChecked 9 Oct 2026 against SEAG (Schools' Entrance Assessment Group).The source says: The English/Irish SAS range will be 69-141 with a mean (or average) of 100View the official source.
• In Slough, the test is marked and standardised by GL Assessment against all Consortium candidates and by age; 100 is the middle of the rangeSource for Slough Consortium 11+ (GL Assessment): StandardisationSlough Consortium 11+ (GL Assessment): StandardisationCloseChecked 9 Oct 2026 against Slough Consortium of Grammar Schools.The source says: Papers are marked by GL Assessment, who then carry out a standardisation process.View the official source.

When two papers are added together, the average roughly doubles:

• The SEAG total runs from 138 to 282, average 200Source for SEAG (Northern Ireland): total score range (total standardised age score)SEAG (Northern Ireland): total score range (total standardised age score)CloseChecked 9 Oct 2026 against SEAG (Schools' Entrance Assessment Group).The source says: The Total SAS range will be 138-282 with a mean (or average) of 200.View the official source.
• In the West Midlands, the official description is age-standardised scores around a median of 200 (stated by the Walsall schools)Source for West Midlands: Score standardisationWest Midlands: Score standardisationCloseChecked 9 Oct 2026 against Queen Mary's Grammar School.The source says: Results will be released throughout the West Midlands Grammar Schools’ partnership using an age-weighted standardisation around a median score of 200.View the official source.

"Average" here means average for the children who sat that particular test. Many of them will have prepared, and many grammar school areas test only children whose parents chose to register them. So an average score is a perfectly reasonable result. It is simply not, on its own, the same as reaching a grammar school standard.

What scores do areas actually ask for?

These are the published figures for the areas where we hold verified records. Each one only makes sense on that area's own scale.

Two things stand out. First, the numbers look very different because the scales are different, not because one area is "harder". Second, Kent shows that a good total is not always enough: a child also needs to reach the minimum on each test.

For past figures and more detail, see the pass mark pages for Buckinghamshire, Kent, Slough, Lincolnshire, Essex and Southend and Birmingham.

When is reaching the qualifying score not enough?

In many areas, more children reach the standard than there are places. The school then uses its admission rules to choose between them. Common patterns include:

• A threshold, then a ranked list. Redbridge describes its rule like this: Minimum threshold score of 104; qualifying candidates ranked by total standardised score in overall order of merit within the oversubscription criteria (looked after, 45 pupil premium places, Common Catchment Area, then outside it)Source for Redbridge 2027 entry: Qualifying ruleRedbridge 2027 entry: Qualifying ruleCloseChecked 9 Oct 2026 against London Borough of Redbridge.The source says: There will be a “minimum threshold score” of 104 for all applicants. No one scoring lower than 104 will be added to the ranked list or waiting list.View the official source.
• Ranking by score alone. Kendrick School describes its method as raw scores age-standardised; ranking by the aggregate of both papersSource for Kendrick School entrance test (GL Assessment): StandardisationKendrick School entrance test (GL Assessment): StandardisationCloseChecked 9 Oct 2026 against Kendrick School.The source says: The raw scores will be age standardised and the ranking is determined by the aggregate of the age standardised scores of both papers.View the official source. Here, a "good" score means a score high enough to be among the children offered places that year.
• A standard set after the test. Stroud High School says: No pre-defined pass mark; the Qualifying Standard is set each year by the School's Admissions Committee having regard to all candidates' standardised scoresSource for Stroud High School entrance test: Pass mark methodStroud High School entrance test: Pass mark methodCloseChecked 9 Oct 2026 against Stroud High School.The source says: The Qualifying Standard is not a pre-defined pass mark, but is determined each year having regard to the standardised scores achieved by all candidates taking the Gloucestershire Grammar School test that year. The Qualifying Standard is ultimately determined by the School’s Admissions Committee.View the official source.
• Extra priority for the highest scorers. In Bexley: The 180 highest total age-standardised scorers are placed in one of the highest priority groups for their preferred Bexley grammar school; other selective pupils are not guaranteed a place.Source for Bexley: Top180 priorityBexley: Top180 priorityCloseChecked 9 Oct 2026 against London Borough of Bexley.The source says: the top 180 children with the highest total age-standardised scores are placed in one of the highest priority groups for their preferred grammar schoolView the official source

In Northern Ireland the principle is the same: each school decides how to use the resultsSource for SEAG (Northern Ireland): Schools decide useSEAG (Northern Ireland): Schools decide useCloseChecked 9 Oct 2026 against SEAG (Schools' Entrance Assessment Group).The source says: Decisions relating to the Year 8 Admissions Criteria such as whether to use Total Standardised Age Score, Band, a combination of both or by some other method are entirely a matter for the Board of Governors of each SEAG school.View the official source.

So for a school that ranks children, the useful question is not "is this a good score?" but "how does this score compare with the scores of children offered places in past years?" Where councils or consortia publish that information, it is on our data pages, for example Buckinghamshire qualifying scores, Kent qualifying scores and Essex and Southend qualifying scores. Past figures are a guide only. They change from year to year with the number of children applying.

What is the highest possible 11+ score?

That also depends on the scale. Some providers publish the range:

• In Buckinghamshire, a child's standardised score is between 60 and 170Source for Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test (STT): Standardised score rangeBuckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test (STT): Standardised score rangeCloseChecked 9 Oct 2026 against Buckinghamshire Council.The source says: A child's ‘standardised score' will be between 60 and 170.View the official source.
• In Northern Ireland, each SEAG subject score runs from 69 to 141, average 100Source for SEAG (Northern Ireland): score range for each subject (standardised age score, SAS)SEAG (Northern Ireland): score range for each subject (standardised age score, SAS)CloseChecked 9 Oct 2026 against SEAG (Schools' Entrance Assessment Group).The source says: The English/Irish SAS range will be 69-141 with a mean (or average) of 100View the official source, and the total from 138 to 282, average 200Source for SEAG (Northern Ireland): total score range (total standardised age score)SEAG (Northern Ireland): total score range (total standardised age score)CloseChecked 9 Oct 2026 against SEAG (Schools' Entrance Assessment Group).The source says: The Total SAS range will be 138-282 with a mean (or average) of 200.View the official source.

Many other tests do not publish a maximum. Very high and very low scores are also less precise than scores near the middle, because few children score at the extremes.

In practice, the highest possible score rarely matters. Where reaching the qualifying score makes a child eligible and places are then decided by other rules, such as distance, a score far above the standard may bring no extra advantage. Check the admission rules, because some schools and areas also use score order. In a ranking area, what matters is the position compared with other applicants that year, not the highest point on the scale.

Can one score be good for one school and not another?

Yes, and this often surprises parents. Within one area, schools that share a test can still use the result differently:

• One school may offer places to every child who reaches the standard, in order of distance from the school.
• Another may rank children by score and fill its places from the highest score downwards.
• A third may give some places to children who reach the standard and live in a priority area, and other places in score order.

So the same score might lead to a likely offer at one school and a less likely one at another. This is not a judgement on the child. It reflects how many children apply to each school and the rules each school has chosen. Each school's admission arrangements, published by the school or the council, explain exactly how it decides. Read them for every school you are thinking of listing, not only your first choice.

How can you tell whether your child's score is good for your area?

A simple order of checks:

1. Find the right number on the letter. Is it a single paper score, a weighted score or a total? Our guide on how to read your child's results letter can help.
2. Find your area's rule. Use the pass mark page for your area to see whether there is a qualifying score, a ranking, or both.
3. Compare like with like. Only compare the score with figures from the same test and the same scale.
4. Look at each school separately. Two schools in one area can use the same score in different ways.
5. Use the checker if your area is listed. Our 11+ score checker compares a standardised score from an official results letter with the qualifying score your area published. To see what it checks and its limits, read how our score checker works.

If you are looking at a practice or mock score, be more cautious. Those scores come from a different paper and a different group of children. Our guide on how to read mock results explains why.

What if the score is just below the standard?

It is natural to feel disappointed, especially when the gap is small. A few calm points:

• A score just below the standard still reflects real ability and effort.
• Some areas have a review process, and some schools give priority to certain groups. Check your area's page for the details.
• You can still apply, and you can appeal if you are refused a place. See reviews and appeals.

Most of all, your child needs to hear that you are proud of the effort they made. Our guide what happens if my child doesn't pass the 11+? goes through the next steps.

Related pages

• Standardised scores explained
• Is 70% enough to pass the 11+?
• Age standardisation: how the 11+ adjusts for age
• 11+ score checker
• Is there a GL 11+ pass mark?
• 11+ results day: what to do next

Sources

Facts on this page come from archived official sources checked on 13 October 2026: SEAG (Schools' Entrance Assessment Group), the Slough Consortium of Grammar Schools, Queen Mary's Grammar School (Walsall), Buckinghamshire Council, The Bucks Grammar Schools, Kent County Council, the Lincolnshire Consortium of Grammar Schools, the Consortium of Selective Schools in Essex (CSSE), the King Edward VI Foundation Birmingham, the London Borough of Redbridge, Kendrick School, Stroud High School and the London Borough of Bexley.

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