To be extremely pissed off with DD1 English teacher

[Foxeym]

DD1 had to hand in a draft for her English GCSE coursework today. She loves reading and writing and has always excelled at creative writing etc. She has been informed that her work is not GCSE standard but a-level/ uni level and she will need to dumb it down if she wants to get good grades as the markers will presume she has cheated and someone else has done it for her. I'm bloody gobsmacked, she struggles with maths and science but has always loved English and now her attitude is 'why should I bother'. I'm upset for her and REALLY want to give this English teacher a piece of my mind, so much for doing your best!

[Floggingmolly]

Ah, I see, it just sounded a bit weird . Sounds like he'll go far!

[Hassled]

Flogging - I meant that his grasp of wider concepts, his terminology, the quality of writing etc is (apparently) of an A Level standard. He'll go off on interesting tangents which aren't appropriate for GCSE.

I do realise quite how wankerish this sounds, btw. He's a bit of a freak of nature, my DS2.

[Pregnantberry]

I agree it sounds like your DD has misinterpreted...

I'm sure moderators are used to dealing with high ability coursework and don't just assume it's plagiarised. Otherwise all those 'child prodigies' would get straight Us!

[nkf]

I don't believe it. One of you has made a mistake. Or it's a stealth boast.

[JennyCalendar]

Cambridge IGCSE English language (0500 or 0522) involves a coursework portfolio (NOT controlled assessments) which you draft and redraft after feedback (Speaking and listening is also still included in IGCSE).

If the teacher said exactly those words in the OP then I would be making an urgent appointment to speak to the teacher and/or HoD as that is just wrong.

I have one student this year who is producing exquisite writing worthy of A Level standard. Even though his drafts are near perfect for IGCSE, I am still encouraging him to make it even better.

I'm hoping that this has just been a misunderstanding.

[MissBetseyTrotwood]

Sounds v odd to me. I presume it's IGCSE?

Is there a big discrepancy between her CW and exam achievement?

[OrangeMochaFrappucino]

Thinking about this, there must be a misunderstanding somewhere. Students aren't allowed to draft coursework and teachers wouldn't be allowed to mark it if they did. And it would just be such an inexplicable thing for the teacher to say - she must have meant something different and expressed it badly or in a confusing way.

[Floggingmolly]

Hassled, how can you answer at an A level standard whilst completely failing to address the actual question?

[MoominIsGoingToBeAMumWaitWHAT]

GCSE English and A Level English are totally different question styles, and I can sort of see why, if she was answering at A Level standard, she'd be told to meet the criteria for GCSE standard instead. A Level standard goes into a whole new depth that just isn't asked for at GCSE - but it also calls on pupil to ignore some of the things they were told to focus on at GCSE too - the step up is massive - I found, not so much in terms of ability, but in terms of the difference in what you're expected to answer with.

[coco44]

I got an 11/10 on a piece of English coursework at GCSE

..but you flunked your maths

[coco44]

also remember GCSEs aren't just for 16 yr olds!!

[TheFallenMadonna]

Hmm. Of course things are simplified in Science GCSEs, otherwise they'd be A levels. And A levels would be degrees and so on. I like to show GCSE classes a sneak preview of respiration at A level, for example. And my A level classes all those reaction they gloss over. As long as your sophisticated answer actually answers the question, generally you're fine. Trouble starts when people don't answer the question because they want to demonstrate their cleverness. You've got to answer the question!

[IHeartKingThistle]

Dammit shouldn't have replied and bumped this stupid thread.

[IHeartKingThistle]

Well starball the teacher's between a rock and a hard place there. At the end of the day you have to get them a GCSE and unfortunately there are a lot of prescriptive questions at GCSE. Hardly the teacher's fault.

[Starballbunny]

DDs friend had two years of this in physics.

"Yes that's right, but for the purpose of GCSE the answer is ..insert dumbed down, assumption ridden, maths free explanation"

[BettyBotter]

I would ask the teacher for clarification before taking this as exactly what was meant.

As others have said, if her English is of such a consistently high standard through all the many pieces of wriiten coursework she will have had to produce there will be no doubt about her ability level or questions of plagiarism.

[ATruthUniversallyAcknowledged]

I'm confused. Why is she being allowed to draft her controlled assessments for a teacher to mark? That's totally against the rules.

On a more helpful note, which exam board is it and do you know the title? With that info we could guide you towards the marking criteria and help you help her to identify what the problem is.

[Hassled]

I've had similar with DS2 in Geography - the teacher has said that he's answering at an A Level standard but he's not actually answering the GCSE question that was asked. Is that what the teacher meant?

[uselessinformation]

Could it possibly be that she didn't actually answer the question? Ds's teacher told me that he has an excellent turn of phrase and vocabulary but doesn't always answer the question.

[shoppingbagsundereyes]

Did the English teacher actually say those words or are they your dd's interpretation of them? I taught and examination English gcse for years and there are very clear grade descriptors that have to be met in order for a grade to be awarded. So just as an example your dd may write a piece of steam of consciousness writing that is of a degree level standard. If she does not demonstrate that she can use punctuation and paragraphing correctly she cannot attain a C at GCSE.
This isn't the teacher's fault, it's the the constraints of the exam board which is in turn controlled by the dept for education.

[EvilTwins]

I agree it sounds ridiculous and definitely needs following up with the teacher BUT a note of caution. At my school last year, a yr 9 girl was entered for GCSE Design. The teacher took examples of her work to a moderation meeting and was told it was AS standard (she is a very talented girl) However, she achieved a grade C in her GCSE and the school was accused of cheating. All the grades in the class were brought down pending investigation. It's still ongoing Utterly ridiculous. I have students in Yr 10 who are capable of sitting L3 qualifications in my subject (Performing Arts) but I'm not going to enter them because of this.

[cogitosum]

Is it definitely in case they think it's plagerised? The problem could be that gcse marking is very prescriptive and they don't like to see critical thinking.

[JonSnowKnowsNothing]

I for one am glad there's yet another thread on which to bash incompetent teachers, particularly when they've been so thin on the ground over recent days.

[thegreylady]

Believe me as a senior marker for GCSE English I can assure you that the teacher is talking nonsense! I have read work from students that has stunned me with its excellence. You an honestly tell if it is plagiarised or has been done by an adult. Let your dd continue to shine and I bet the comes out with an A*.