Everyone seems to have excelled in their GCSE mocks. Why?

IHeartKingThistle · 23/12/2020 20:07

This is goady and you know it. I'm not biting.

Isthatitnow · 23/12/2020 20:09

Well, I can’t speak for all teachers but I did live online lessons the whole of lockdown and my exam class is a very bright one this year. They have worked hard and continue to do so. Moreover, Inhave been on and on at them to ‘make every test, piece of work and exam count’ since the first of September because it is clear that there is a high chance we will be doing CAGs again.

Move along. Nothing at all to see.

Judashascomeintosomemoney · 23/12/2020 20:11

Is this all the same school? Different schools? Were they years groups that had lots of periods of SI or none? Were they online? Open book? Exam conditions? Mocks aren’t standardised. Without context this is meaningless.

Original poster

Booboohoog · 23/12/2020 20:15

I'm actually not being goady. I always thought DC go up a couple of grades in the real exams so am surprised at all the high marks I keep hearing about.

OP posts:

quest1on · 23/12/2020 20:15

“Everyone” has not excelled in their GCSE mocks. What on earth do you mean? Most DC haven’t even had mocks for a start. At DD’s school they did some mini-mocks last term and the results were fairly dire, on average. And this is an independent school that had full online teaching.

NovemberR · 23/12/2020 20:16

Really? I have one DC in school who will take Mocks in Jan.

One will take them in March. I suspect the parents you know are 'Disney' ones. I don't know anyone who will be getting all 7-9s.

Judashascomeintosomemoney · 23/12/2020 20:17

‘Everyone’ excelling? ‘All’ the high marks?
Who do you mean exactly?

TheFormerPorpentinaScamander · 23/12/2020 20:20

Really? Everyone? My son "failed" one of his. His others were OK but not the grades I know he could get. He wasn't the only one to fail either.

xmasfairybuns · 23/12/2020 20:21

@Booboohoog

Other parents keep telling me how their DC's have got 7s, 8s and 9s in their GCSE mocks. Considering the lockdown and all the school they missed this surprises me and they're going to make the actual GCSES easier apparently. What's going on?

The ones who didn't get those grades presumably won't be telling you the grades. What's the point in starting a thread about it?

Original poster

Booboohoog · 23/12/2020 20:22

Seriously all the parents I have spoken to who have DC in year 11. The lowest grade has been a 7.

OP posts:

Rudolphian · 23/12/2020 20:23

What do you want us to say?
That the teachers are giving high marks on purpose in case they then need to give predicted grades in August that will decide the actual GCSES.
And it's easier to justify a higher predicted mark if the students got high marks in their mocks?

merryhouse · 23/12/2020 20:25

Worl, 'sa self-selecting group, innit?

Who's going to come up and tell you that their child got 2s and 3s in their recent tests?

AuntLucy · 23/12/2020 20:27

As I understand it, mocks are usually the actually paper of the previous year. The model answers and mark scheme are kept under strict lock and key in the interim between the exam and the next mocks so that people can't revise specifically for it, then after it has been used in the mocks, it goes out into the wild to be part of the generally available past papers for revision. But this year, there was no actual exam, so in some cases at least, the mocks reused the 2019 past paper. Hence many students quite sensibly sourced the mark scheme, memorised the model answers and replicated them. So there are a LOT of excellent scores. Or so I have been told by a teacher who marked the papers for his school.

RB68 · 23/12/2020 20:28

I think those kids that would normally underperform in mocks have had drilled into them about making every test and exam count. I personally do not think exams will go ahead this year given the two new variants seem to be particuarly devastating to younger people. I think also there is little else for kids to do so no normal distractions meeting up, parties etc. They have also altered some exams - I wouldn't nec say made easier but been relistic in terms of what has ben studied - the responses are not expected to be lighter it will still be graded the same just on a narrower topic range.

lanthanum · 23/12/2020 20:29

Are these children who were "working at greater depth" in year 6? If so, then it's no big surprise.

AuntLucy · 23/12/2020 20:30

To be fair, that is almost certainly true too. You'd have to be pretty naive not to have given the mocks absolutely EVERYTHING you have this year, given the liklihood it will be your actual score.

RB68 · 23/12/2020 20:31

Aunt Lucy - the later mocks (ours are Jan) are well aware of this, I know my daughter was particualrly scathing of some kids that did this for tests held in Autumn term and the school are re testing as a result

NovemberR · 23/12/2020 20:31

What did your own child get?

Or are you just canvassing opinions from Y11 parents for no apparent reason? What's it matter to you?

JellyBabiesSaveLives · 23/12/2020 20:39

AuntLucy, no, totally doesn’t work like that. The papers from previous years are available straight after the exam is sat. You can’t use a previous paper as a mock because you haven’t finished the syllabus. Teachers generally make up a mock paper using questions from past papers but there is no standard method.

Some teachers mark “hard” for mocks to motivate students. Some mark “soft” to encourage them. Some use grade boundaries to give grades and some use their knowledge and experience to judge what grade someone would have got with those marks.

Mocks are just practice exams. Schools don’t even have to do them.

And OP - yeah, the parents of the kids who got 3s are keeping quiet. Or possibly the kids who supposedly got all 9s are bluffing.

Ds1 sat his mocks but hasn’t had results. Let’s just say he does not think he got all 7-9s.

Ski4130 · 23/12/2020 20:46

Well, you either know people with high achieving kids, or they’re lying. Ds sat his mocks in November, he got 5 and 6s and one 8. I have no idea how his friends did, because beyond parent friends saying ‘they did ok’ or ‘they need to knuckle down’ we haven’t discussEd specific grades.

Mistlewoeandwhine · 23/12/2020 20:49

My DS got a 4 in his religion if it makes you feel any better...

Minky37 · 23/12/2020 20:53

My DS hasn’t got his results yet, but we made him knuckle down and study hard in case these end up being what his final results are based on (despite assurances this don’t happen again!).
Also parents of kids who got 2/3 aren’t exactly going to be shouting it from the rooftops !

TheCrowFromBelow · 23/12/2020 21:01

Maybe everyone you know is a genius.

My DC worked hard and got a range of grades from 4 - 8, but at his school the mocks are about learning revision and exam techniques as much as anything. My DC's target grades don't necessarily match the exam results. They are expected to achieve a higher grade as they haven't finished the syllabus.

Sh05 · 23/12/2020 21:06

My son's school do 3 sets of mocks so November, January and march and I know their online lessons were just as intense as school lessons.
Teachers have been really on the ball since schools reopened in September because of the fear of further closures and the exams being a little up in the air.
I don't know any schools who have already had their students sit their actual mocks yet though

Cocomarine · 23/12/2020 21:10

No mocks here yet, but I’ve just been through Y7 first setting for several subjects.
Almost every child I know is in top set for all set subjects.

Which is weird, because who would have thought I’d know children all from the same primary set in a wealthy area with parents who all have the time and ability to support their kids, and high maternal education level (a key indicator). Oh wait - everyone would have thought it!

You’ve got a biased sample, is all 🤷🏻‍♀️