Any secondary school teachers around?

[hoxtonbabe]

Hi All,

Just wanting to get opinions really.

If a student did a test that counted towards their end of term report and although did not do terribly ( 70%) and the student wanted to revise the areas that was incorrect or unanswered so needed the questions ( not saying the teacher should retest or anything or deal with it, just wanted a note of the incorrect questions so something the pupil can work on at home in spare time for their own satisfaction and self determination as it’s likely some of the questions from the current test will come up at the next one) would you see this as a bad thing or something you feel you should not support because you do not want them to over do it, and because the pupil got the mark they needed to get over the threshold felt it unnecessary? There is no evidence the pupil is stressing, in fact the pupil is saying it’s fine, the parent is saying it is fine.

The school is not known for great GCSES and they are always trying to come up with ways to get the students to be more engaged, do their homework etc and just before the lockdown put in compulsory after school homework sessions which have just resumed.

[KyraGoose]

Yes no problem. I'd just let them take the test home.

[SansaSnark]

I'd actively encourage this. Unfortunately, we have to keep tests in school so we "have a record" but I'd let them photograph or photocopy the test or something.

[PheasantPlucker1]

Taking a pic of the questions is a good idea, asking to do that is the best bet.

However I once had a kid ask to do this. They revised and memorised perfect answers to the questions. The next exam had completely different questions but, undeterred, the pupil wrote their perfectly prepared answer out anyway.

It was actually hilarious to read, less so when I had to give them 0!

[hoxtonbabe]

Thanks folks,

I personally can’t get my head around this. Why would a teacher NOT want a child to want to do better especially when for the most part you can’t get the others to even do their homework, so when you have one saying please let me revise my mistakes I would have thought as a teacher this is exactly the sort of thing you would want, surely it makes life that bit easier when you have a pupil that actually wants to get 100% without you trying ?!?! Plus it’s not really the teachers decision to decide what they feel is enough for the pupil when there is nothing to suggest it would be a strain on them, if it was a 90% mark I could understand but 70% means 30% of the work was incorrect or wrong... that’s quite a lot.

As you mentioned a copy of it would’ve sufficed. I’m not surprised their results aren’t great.

[hoxtonbabe]

Sorry I mean incorrect or unanswered

[Possums4evr]

When and how they asked would also be relevant here.

[hoxtonbabe]

@Possums4evr

Could you elaborate? Not being arsey, I’m curious

[Possums4evr]

[quote hoxtonbabe]@Possums4evr

Could you elaborate? Not being arsey, I’m curious[/quote]
Ok well I assume your dc asked the teacher for the test and was told no? If a pupil said can I speak to you about my test result (and arranged a suitable time) my response would be different than if asked on the way out of class with another one about to arrive. I might need to make a print out of the test, or photocopy the pupil's answers if I need the original for my evidence, and 50% of the time one of those is out of order.
There's also the issue of asking the teacher to remark the same test when they need to be working on the next topic.
Now what your child wanted may not have involved some of that, but was the teacher clear on that? Worth asking again, in a different way perhaps!

[hoxtonbabe]

@Possums4evr

How teacher was asked isn’t anywhere close to what you think, I could actually understand it a bit more if it was!

As I mentioned in the original post there was no expectation for the teacher to remark etc. My eldest has a degree in the subject in question so would have got help from him and online.

The response from the teacher was he has achieved 70% it is an excellent mark ( we beg to differ) no need to to improve on that which would probably bother us less if a few weeks ago they didn’t send out a letter saying regardless of set, pupils should be aiming for a minimum of 80% in certain subjects.

I don’t think teachers should be discouraging a child from wanting to improve their work. You may not go out of your way to get them to try and learn the questions they got wrong but you shouldn’t block them from doing so either if asked, and then have the school SLT grumble that the kids aren’t engaging as much as they would like.

[TeenPlusTwenties]

Another reason I could think of is that some of the class are self-isolating and they want them to do the test on their return. So they don't want the 'exact' questions to leave the classroom for fear of the later pupils having an unfair advantage.
Alternatively, it is a maths test and the teacher knows the pupil hasn't actually been taught most of the remaining material yet.

[InTheLongGrass]

The school I work at uses the basis of the same test each year. Do they want to keep it without hard copies floating round school?

Can you get a CGP book for the subject, and work through the relevent chapter and questions. Other brands of books do exist, I've just been impressed with cgp when we have used them at home.

[Misssugarplum12764]

My students stick their tests in their books, which they can freely take home at any time. I’d only say no if I’d given them out and forgotten to write their marks in my planner, or if I had students absent for the test who needed to do it later. But I would make it clear to the child they could take it home later on. I wonder if the school is being COVID-cautious about bits of paper going home? Or, if it’s a Year 11, worried about some kind of random Gavin-related u turn and wants to keep all physical test papers for potential CAGs.

[WindblowingSW]

Maybe some of the others haven't done the assessment yet? Isolation etc

I'd email and ask for photocopy of your child's paper / blank copy of the paper so you can go over it over it home.

If they refuse with no good reason -go to Head of Department / Head of Year.

[WhyNotMe40]

We only don't allow tests to be taken home if they are to be used next year, or still to be used for another group. Just to stop cheating.
Otherwise we encourage them to make corrections