'A' levels mocks shock

Alevelsmockshock · 2025-02-25T19:38:30+00:00

Household is in a bit of a state of shock. DD predicted A, B, B and got C, E, U in her February mocks, real thing this summer. She focused on the subject that she got a C in, but had major problems with time management in all of them. She's currently blaming everyone else but herself (a defence - she's humiliated and shocked). But still going from an A to a U in her 'best' subject was a shocker. We've had a couple of talks and I'm giving her a bit of space to process things at the moment. She's applied to universities and has some offers based on her previous predicted grades, which now look very unlikely. I don't care about getting the grades for uni - I just want her to be happy, but never thought I'd see her struggling with academics. Any chance that focused revision from here on in will help her pull it out of the bag? Not to achieve the offers she has, but just to make her feel reasonably proud of herself. TIA.

Original poster

Alevelsmockshock · 27/02/2025 15:40

Goodness, I know dd has lots of genuine issues, the last thing I'd ever be dismissive. Yes, she had a very tough time Y9/Y10, as we were coming out of covid restrictions and it's had a huge negative effect on all aspects of her life. Really distressing to witness.

She has good relationships with teachers who I'm sure are saying 'exam technique, exam technique, exam technique'.

Generally, she won't talk about the traumatic experiences at all. She did bring it up in conversation a few months ago, describing it as 'traumatic' so I think she's processing that she does need some professional help with it to move on.

Bibbitybobbity yes, I don't think it's particularly lack of subject knowledge. It's about working out what the examiners want and getting that down on paper.

Thanks again all.

OP posts:

TheAmusedQuail · 27/02/2025 10:23

MrsHamlet · 26/02/2025 21:58

We don't do AQA and we do have boundaries by paper.

Edited

But it's possible to take the marks from the grade boundaries from the previous year's exam and work out the boundaries for marks for the mock. So it's a factual representation.

Editing to apologise. Responding to another poster.

verycloakanddaggers · 27/02/2025 06:31

Alevelsmockshock · 25/02/2025 23:46

I agree that it's immature behaviour - the blaming everyone is particularly irritating for someone who is going to be 18 next month.

She has said a couple of times recently that she doesn't want to go to university. Fine by me as long as she has a plan for something to occupy her. But I think she feels like she'd be letting herself/the school down if she didn't go. She's certainly not ready to go this year (in my opinion).

She might change her mind about parents' evening (possibly to keep an eye on me!) and I shall definitely go.

She said this evening about her mind going blank in exams or, as she described it, it's like a load of letters being thrown up in the air in her head. She doesn't feel consciously stressed so much, but it does sound like an anxiety-driven, quiet panic/blanking out.

She's never coped well with transitions, and she had a very traumatic experience at end of Y9/beg of Y10 at her old school which she's never really processed properly (always refused to see a counsellor/therapist) and took a long time to settle into a new school. She struggled with the end of Y11 and bottled out of going to a better sixth form, which was the right thing for her to do as she clearly wasn't ready.

My sense is that there's going to be (a few more) years of high drama as she works things through.

You use the dismissive terms 'immature' and 'drama' but then list lots of genuine issues. Sounds like she's had a tough time? Some people do really struggle with exams.

It's pretty human to be defensive in these situations, although of course it's more helpful to be open to discussing failure.

Is there a teacher she trusts that she can speak to?

marcopront · 27/02/2025 04:29

I was referring to predicted grades, hence I used the term predicted grades.
I have many more conversations along the lines of "Why have you predicted so low, the child will not get an offer for X university?" than "Why have you over predicted".
Predicted grades are not an absolute science. The conversation about students underachieving is more likely to be based on in class test and exam performance than predicted grades.

marcopront · 27/02/2025 04:28

TheAmusedQuail · 26/02/2025 18:43

I'm talking about predicted grades which are then considered after the GCSEs/A Levels are over. Teachers predicted grades are compared to actual GCSE/A Level grades. Possibly some teachers do over predict. But they'll be hauled up in front of SLT (or their HoD will) and asked why their students are consistently under achieving. Woe betide any teacher who makes a habit of over predicting.

Predicted grades are different than aspirational grades.
Predicted grade is what the teacher assumes will be the final GCSE/A Level result.
Aspirational grade is what they hope the student will achieve.

Edited

Show quote history

I was referring to predicted grades, hence I used the term predicted grades.
I have many more conversations along the lines of "Why have you predicted so low, the child will not get an offer for X university?" than "Why have you over predicted".

Bibbetybobbity · 26/02/2025 22:58

I knew you’d say Biology- it’s such a harsh marking scheme, then once you crack it, it’s possible to jump up the grades. My dd went from D/C to a really solid A in the actual a-levels, so a big leap is possible. With past papers, tutoring and lots of tlc and support, it’s 100% possible to improve the mock grades. Agree with you that a gap year would be good- especially if your dd will have slogged through her a-levels (by that point) it’s such a good time to decompress, think about their own plan, mature a bit. It was totally transformational for my dd.

Original poster

Alevelsmockshock · 26/02/2025 22:48

My reasoning is exactly what you described mathsanxiety - absolutely no guarantee that the first therapist you meet is going to be the one, but it can still stir lots of stuff up and I'm not sure we need to add 'finding a therapist' into the stress mix at this point.

If she asks again with more of a 'I'd like to see one' rather than 'I'm vaguely thinking about it' tone, that might be different. I know from past experience that me trying to drive dd to do anything quickly becomes counterproductive.

Yes, she does study with friends at school - they're in 8.30 to their last lesson and she often stays later. She's been regularly handing work into her teachers/tutor who have been marking it. I've encouraged her to use the mark scheme more to review how she approached a question rather than 'mark' papers herself because it's incredibly difficult to be objective and easy to award yourself marks for something you sort of know but didn't write down.

She's much calmer today. I agreed not to ask her anymore about school as it's stressing her out. Will see if she goes to parents' evening - she knows I'm intending to.

OP posts:

mathanxiety · 26/02/2025 22:34

@Alevelsmockshock

Has your DD ever been part of a study group?

It's often really hard to sit on your own in your room for long stretches trying to master material, and if she has experienced trauma or anxiety, it's very possible she has been spending all those hours just ruminating or dealing with feelings of panic.

It might be a good idea for her to set up a study group to meet a few times a week. Group members can check each others' knowledge and keep spirits up. There is a feeling of accountability too.

How has she been checking whether her practice exams and the rest of her work has been correct or whether she's answered the questions fully?

mathanxiety · 26/02/2025 22:28

She did mention seeing a therapist or counsellor recently having been completely resistant to it before. I didn't jump into 'let's contact the GP' or anything, as it needs to be something that she's fully committed to not just a passing thought.

What is your reasoning there?

The right therapist will be able to make her feel comfortable and willing to meet again.

You could revisit the topic and ask if she's willing to start looking for a therapist. Assure her that if she doesn't feel the sort of rapport that makes her comfortable she can keep on trying therapists out until she finds the right one.

Your first appointment with a therapist is where you sort of interview the therapist. It's not always the case that you and the therapist will click. Sometimes you'll find it's third one lucky, or even more.

BigSilly · 26/02/2025 21:59

Fuuuuuckit · 26/02/2025 06:40

I suspect these are y13 mocks - my dd has just had another round of mocks 3 months before the real exams. They're 2 or 3 weeks away from completing the learning of the subject, from them on its revision and exam prep.

Show quote history

I was talking about the y12 exams the op says her daughter got an A in.

MrsHamlet · 26/02/2025 21:58

We don't do AQA and we do have boundaries by paper.

BigSilly · 26/02/2025 21:57

MrsHamlet · 25/02/2025 22:47

A full paper. A we have the grade boundaries for each paper so we use those.

Because that's the way we plan the course. We can't do more than one mock in y13 because we're not allowed, so we designed the course to make it as effective as possible.

So we don't need to mark up or down to suit the story we're trying to tell. We simply say "you got X which would've been a grade Y" and take it from there.

It works for us.

Show quote history

I don't understand what you mean. Grades are calculated by reference to the full exam. Individual papers do not have grade boundaries as far as I can see?

TheAmusedQuail · 26/02/2025 19:38

clary · 26/02/2025 19:21

Woe betide any teacher who makes a habit of over predicting.

Tbf @TheAmusedQuail lots of teachers are under pressure to over predict for A level, or rather the predict the PGs that students need in order to get the offer they want. A lot of students in DD's year IIRC begged for higher PGs for this reason. It didn't end well in most cases Icl.

I've heard of admin/SLT going into teachers grading system (whichever one the school uses) and changing teachers predicted grades.

clary · 26/02/2025 19:21

Woe betide any teacher who makes a habit of over predicting.

Tbf @TheAmusedQuail lots of teachers are under pressure to over predict for A level, or rather the predict the PGs that students need in order to get the offer they want. A lot of students in DD's year IIRC begged for higher PGs for this reason. It didn't end well in most cases Icl.

TheAmusedQuail · 26/02/2025 18:43

marcopront · 26/02/2025 17:51

Firstly this about the mark given in an exam not a predicted grade.
Secondly an under prediction is not seen in a good light. Predicted grades get students onto the next stage, an under prediction is likely to prevent that. If teachers are going to deliberately predict wrongly they are more likely to over predict.

Show quote history

I'm talking about predicted grades which are then considered after the GCSEs/A Levels are over. Teachers predicted grades are compared to actual GCSE/A Level grades. Possibly some teachers do over predict. But they'll be hauled up in front of SLT (or their HoD will) and asked why their students are consistently under achieving. Woe betide any teacher who makes a habit of over predicting.

Predicted grades are different than aspirational grades.
Predicted grade is what the teacher assumes will be the final GCSE/A Level result.
Aspirational grade is what they hope the student will achieve.

marcopront · 26/02/2025 17:51

TheAmusedQuail · 26/02/2025 08:31

I think the thing is that teachers have to set predicted grades. And they're less likely to be held to account if students earn higher than a prediction. But if a student under achieves a predicted grade they face a grilling from school as to why, and often from disgruntled parents too. So it behoves teachers to under predict.

Show quote history

Firstly this about the mark given in an exam not a predicted grade.
Secondly an under prediction is not seen in a good light. Predicted grades get students onto the next stage, an under prediction is likely to prevent that. If teachers are going to deliberately predict wrongly they are more likely to over predict.

Original poster

Alevelsmockshock · 26/02/2025 09:41

Littletreefrog yes, the trauma was more recent but she could mitigate against leaving school by staying at her sixth form. We had a whole year of high stress about her wanting to move to another sixth form but feeling too anxious during Y11. It was awful.

Interesting that you should mention resitting Y13. There's a cohort of 'Y14s' at her school - students who are doing exactly that. She's mentioned them quite a lot, and I've wondered if (possibly unconsciously) she's setting herself up to do this to avoid leaving school.

Some of the students did get into university, but decided that they wanted to improve their grades. I think it's probably a covid legacy of some teens just not being ready to move on.

I just want her to be occupied and have some sort of structure to her days and weeks tbh, whatever that is.

She did mention seeing a therapist or counsellor recently having been completely resistant to it before. I didn't jump into 'let's contact the GP' or anything, as it needs to be something that she's fully committed to not just a passing thought.

Thanks everyone for your input - it's really helpful.

OP posts:

TheAmusedQuail · 26/02/2025 08:31

RIPVPROG · 25/02/2025 23:50

My maths GCSE teacher did this to me. I had a fairly laissez-faire attitude to school work at that age, I was able to put in very little effort, do my homework on the school bus and get very good marks. I didn't really revise. I did my maths mock and got an E. I was shaken to my very core and my teenage ego was more than dented, I didn't fail, I rarely got a B. My maths teacher was brutal, told me I might be able to swan into other lessons cobble something together and walk out with a top grade, but his subject took work. He gave me extra work to do and helped me set up a revision plan. On results day I opened that little paper envelope and I got an A* , I burst into tears and my mum thought I'd failed.
I'm pretty sure now that exam was never an E, maybe a B, but he thought I was a cocky little shit who could do better if I actually worked hard. He wasn't wrong.
I didn't think teachers would still get away with that kind of thing now though!

Show quote history

I think the thing is that teachers have to set predicted grades. And they're less likely to be held to account if students earn higher than a prediction. But if a student under achieves a predicted grade they face a grilling from school as to why, and often from disgruntled parents too. So it behoves teachers to under predict.

Littletreefrog · 26/02/2025 08:25

Alevelsmockshock · 26/02/2025 07:47

She definitely has problems with time management - she's more of a ponderer than a fast thinker and that doesn't work in exams if you don't know the material inside out.

As far as revision goes, I know she does practice questions, past papers, notes, mind maps and flash cards. Not with the intensity of someone set to get all As or A*s but sufficient to do herself justice with the right exam technique.

She studies in her room, usually with her phone downstairs, but is completely resistent from any help from me (we tried this last summer with English and it was not successful).

Yes, I agree all the issues she has around anxiety, transitions and trauma need addressing and I'm waiting for her to develop the maturity to really understand that tbh.

She must have managed all of these things in order to pass her GCSE's though and the trauma was more recent and she was less mature at that stage.

I wonder although have no experience in this if resitting year 13 rather than attempting to fix everything in a few months might be a better strategy.

Original poster

Alevelsmockshock · 26/02/2025 07:47

She definitely has problems with time management - she's more of a ponderer than a fast thinker and that doesn't work in exams if you don't know the material inside out.

As far as revision goes, I know she does practice questions, past papers, notes, mind maps and flash cards. Not with the intensity of someone set to get all As or A*s but sufficient to do herself justice with the right exam technique.

She studies in her room, usually with her phone downstairs, but is completely resistent from any help from me (we tried this last summer with English and it was not successful).

Yes, I agree all the issues she has around anxiety, transitions and trauma need addressing and I'm waiting for her to develop the maturity to really understand that tbh.

OP posts:

bouncingblob · 26/02/2025 07:29

The whole point of mocks is to see what you don't know, not what you do. As a teacher I can confidently say that our mock results are often dire, but our final results are amongst some of the best in the country.

Don't panic. Encourage your daughter to look dispassionatelynand honestly at what went wrong, speak to whoever needs spoken to, and learn from it. Tutoring at this stage is probably unnecessary and I've found can often muddy the waters. Tutors aren't some sort of panacea and can sometimes tell you different things from the class teacher, which is not what you want.

Fuuuuuckit · 26/02/2025 06:40

BigSilly · 25/02/2025 22:39

How have you covered enough content to do a full A level in year 12?

Show quote history

I suspect these are y13 mocks - my dd has just had another round of mocks 3 months before the real exams. They're 2 or 3 weeks away from completing the learning of the subject, from them on its revision and exam prep.

Rocknrollstar · 26/02/2025 06:35

Have you reviewed her revision techniques with her as well as her exam technique? Is she actively reading and making notes and then condensing those down to bullet points? Is she closing all the books and actually trying to write an answer to a question?

mathanxiety · 26/02/2025 05:11

Alevelsmockshock · 25/02/2025 23:46

I agree that it's immature behaviour - the blaming everyone is particularly irritating for someone who is going to be 18 next month.

She has said a couple of times recently that she doesn't want to go to university. Fine by me as long as she has a plan for something to occupy her. But I think she feels like she'd be letting herself/the school down if she didn't go. She's certainly not ready to go this year (in my opinion).

She might change her mind about parents' evening (possibly to keep an eye on me!) and I shall definitely go.

She said this evening about her mind going blank in exams or, as she described it, it's like a load of letters being thrown up in the air in her head. She doesn't feel consciously stressed so much, but it does sound like an anxiety-driven, quiet panic/blanking out.

She's never coped well with transitions, and she had a very traumatic experience at end of Y9/beg of Y10 at her old school which she's never really processed properly (always refused to see a counsellor/therapist) and took a long time to settle into a new school. She struggled with the end of Y11 and bottled out of going to a better sixth form, which was the right thing for her to do as she clearly wasn't ready.

My sense is that there's going to be (a few more) years of high drama as she works things through.

All of this really needs addressing.

Did she actually do any studying or just sit with her material and zone out?

mathanxiety · 26/02/2025 05:09

Alevelsmockshock · 25/02/2025 20:20

English, Biology and Sociology. She's had a tutor with good knowledge of her exam spec for biology for a while and has been consistently doing past papers and getting B+.

Yes, she did miss out whole questions. I was trying to explain to her that this really drags your marks down even if you do well on some answers, but she's not ready to listen or knows and is angry with herself.

Yes, she did apply to unis with lower offers, but these results are way off that. I'm not sure that it's worth going to university if you can't work out how to revise and do exams, unless it's an entirely coursework based degree.

I think it is mainly exam technique - realising that it's fundamental not an optional extra. I've got parents' evening next week (she's refusing to go at the moment, which is up to her) and I'll find out more then.

Her predicted grades were based on GCSEs, past mocks and work she'd submitted during the year.

Why did she miss whole questions?
Were they printed on the back of the paper?

Or was she unable to work quickly through questions based on tables or graphs and ended up running out of time?

One reason for a student to stumble through exams is lack of subject knowledge or practice in certain types of questions.

Has she been studying in her room or where you can see her?

A U grade means she really bombed that subject, suggesting lack of knowledge as a contributory cause.