English GCSE grades. Any teachers about?

[SixEightSeven]

Hi there
My DD has just got a mark from a GCSE English mock - she is in year 10. Apparently she got 30/40 on both papers. However, the teacher says he cannot (or will not) tell her what that equates to in either old or new GCSE grade. He said they just need to know this figure so they know if they are improving or not when they do the next exam.

DD would like to know how she has done (as would I, obviously!). She says the paper she took had GCSE printed on the front cover.

So, any teachers out there able to give an idea of whether 30/40 would be approximately a c/b/a or 5/6/7/8 territory?

Thanks.

[Wolfiefan]

Grade boundaries can change from year to year. They will also vary according to paper and exam board.
Plus if teachers tell kids their grades some will give up because they think they can't improve, some will stop working as they got their target and kids will also spend all their time comparing grades. It is actually good practice not to grade papers. Students need to focus on what went well and how to do even better.
Plus it's Y10. She's presumably not sitting the exams for ages.

[TheSecondOfHerName]

Is she doing the exam next summer, or in 2017?

If she is doing the exam in summer 2016, then I think it's reasonable to ask for an approximate grade estimate from the mock exam.

If she is doing the exam in 2017 then there aren't any past papers for English. The first exams are in 2017, so she will be in the first group to take them. There are one or two sample papers available from the exam boards. However, if she is doing the exam in 2017 then this isn't really a mock, as she still has four terms of teaching left.

[MissMillament]

Sounds like she has done Paper One of the language exam - 40 marks for Section A and 40 for Section B. That is only half of the English Language GCSE (there are two exams in Language and two in Literature) so not enough to give a predicted grade on, even if we knew the grade boundaries which we don't. It is a good score for this early in Y10 though. As a PP said, it is a practice exam but I wouldn't be describing anything they do this early in the exam cycle as a true mock exam. We are all a little in the dark, but I would be encouraged by this sort of score at this stage.

[SixEightSeven]

Lots of helpful messages - thank you.

DD is only at the start of her GCSE course, so won't be sitting the exam till 2017. However, she were told this exam was a mock, and she should try her best - hence her disappointment she doesn't really know how well she has done.

I get your reasons why teachers may not want to give grades this early - I will pass this on to DD. Alongside the message that this is just one test, not a complete exam, and too early to make any predictions from. Especially given that this new GCSE is a bit of a marking mystery at the moment.

I am sure the intellectual side of her will get that. The emotional 'I want to know!' side she will just have to mutter about with her friends!
Ta

[drivinmecrazy]

No idea about 30/40 but DD got 38/40 on both papers and was given a guide score of 9.
I agree with pp that it's really not helpful to be given a grade.
Think my DD could be in for a sharp shock cos there is absolutely no way on earth she is going to keep scoring so high for the next year and a half.

[SixEightSeven]

Thanks drivin. I suppose with a score that high, you know your DD is at the top grade. I get your concern though, because with that kind of score comes a lot of pressure I expect (from herself as well as teachers).

I wonder if your DD's teachers gave other children (with lower marks) a guide score, and if so, how they worked it out, as others have already said, it is an imprecise science at the moment (aside from your DD, which is an obvious translation!).

Funny how schools have different approaches. They must all think their way is the 'best' way lol!