Why would you give out the exam question before the exam?

[Solo2]

Just wanting to understand the thinking behind this method, as I'm sure there must be good reasons for it. I was v surprised when I learned that all the children had been given the English Lit exam questions in advance of the exam next week. This is a Yr 6 group in an academically selective school and these exams are important in relation to progression into the seniors.

My first response (and several mum friends too) was that some of the parents would help their DC to write the 'perfect' essays/ story before the exam and then over the next few days coach their DCs to memorise chunks of this - or certainly main themes. I'm one of the mums who doesn't have time for that anyway (solo parent running f/t business) but there are plenty of SAHM 'tiger mums' there who will no doubt be doing this.

School has only said that parents need do 'nothing' with DCs in advance as they've already been planning answers in class.

I've never come across the idea of giving exam questions in advance before but then I was at school in the 70s so maybe things have changed.

What would this way of teaching be trying to achieve? Clearly this is not about testing the children's current level of writing stories/ interpreting texts, autonomously. These children are all used to doing tests and exams regularly since age 4 so they don't especially need help with writing under time pressure - although no doubt would still benefit. But this won't be testing their ability to 'think on their feet'.

Any thoughts and what am I missing?

I have no idea and am currently struggling to find the logical reason for this!

But, when I did my a levels we found out that some other schools were allowed to take the texts into the eng lit exam, whereas we had to memorise quotes etc etc. I could never understand that either.

Maybe they're going to give them an unplanned question too so they can tell exactly who's been getting help from Mummy?

I can see point in letting the kids know the book on which the question will be based (typical yr6 tests are too often a short passage out of context) but giving the actual question seems a bit strange.

They do this in CAs too. My ds has just done one in Eng where they knew the question in advance, really odd.

This is all to do with learning how to research the exam question, using resources and displaying critical thinking. A much higher standard of exam script is expected of the children and it is usully only one component of the whole exam process.

Ah. Good point crystal

I had to do this for one of my final exams in my degree about 15 years ago. I don't think it is a new thing per se.

I agree that you would expect a seen essay to be of a much higher standard - the question to be more researched / thought out / planned with more convincing evidence supplied perhaps? I now teach 'A' levels and we have some seen papers (although evidence not the actual question, although the questions can be quite easy to predict once you've got the material) , but these skills may be a bit more advanced for younger children?

Certainly the bar will be raised for a seen rather than an unseen exam.