How to mark an 11+ practice paper and find weak topics

Updated 11 November 2026

Marking is where a practice paper earns its keep. Done well, it takes ten minutes and tells you exactly what to practise next.

Mark it the same day

Mark while the paper is fresh in your child’s mind, so they can still remember how they tackled each question. Use the answer key, or mark online: tap the letter your child chose for each question and you get the score, a breakdown by topic and an explanation for every answer they got wrong.

Look at topics, not just the total

A score of 30 out of 40 can hide a topic where your child got nothing right. Group the questions by topic (each of our answer keys labels the topic for every question) and look for the lowest percentages. Those are the topics to practise next.

Find out why each answer was wrong

• Careless slips: practise checking, for example reading the question twice and checking the answer fits.
• Didn’t know how: go through the explanation together, then try a few similar questions.
• Ran out of time: practise moving on from a hard question and coming back to it.

Blank answers

Look at any questions left blank. Many multiple-choice 11+ tests do not take marks away for wrong answers. Check your area’s guidance, and if that is the case, teach your child to put down their best guess rather than leave a gap.

What a percentage does and does not tell you

Real 11+ results are usually given as standardised scores, which take a child’s age into account and compare them with everyone who sat the test. A percentage on a practice paper is not a pass mark. Use it to track your own child’s progress over time, not to compare with other children.

Close the loop

Come back to the weakest topic about a week later with fresh questions. If it has improved, move on to the next topic on the list. Keeping a record of results, on paper or with online marking, shows you which topics are getting better and which still need work.