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Further education

You'll find discussions about A Levels and universities on our Further Education forum.

Original poster

Whole class has done badly in mock A’level. Covid related?

58 replies

billyblueblood · 18/03/2023 08:39

DD is devastated. She’s a very hardworking kid, has to put in a lot of effort to get good grades but has done a lot of revising. Apparently most of the class have done badly so not sure what is going on. Not sure if it’s a result of a lack of exams during covid or something else. How’s your year 13 doing?

OP posts:
CatSpeakForDummies · 18/03/2023 08:41

It could just be a badly judged exam, if it is out if sync with all the other subjects, the school will look into it.

Sandysandwich · 18/03/2023 08:56

Is it a real mock? Where they use last years paper and then last years grade boundaries? So maybe it wouldn't be covid effected as that year group was also similarly affected by covid and the grade boundaries would reflect that?

mdh2020 · 18/03/2023 09:00

My whole class did badly at GCE English Lit because the teacher had taught us English but hadn’t taught us to pass the exam. Check with the school if teaching strategies are going to change. Also, in the last term, for A level, we rotated teachers so we got a different viewpoint on the books.

mum11970 · 18/03/2023 09:01

Which subject is it?

MarshaBradyo · 18/03/2023 09:04

Which subject was it?

Original poster
billyblueblood · 18/03/2023 09:12

Chemistry

OP posts:
DelurkingAJ · 18/03/2023 09:14

Chemistry A-level is tough. How is her exam technique? Has she been taught how to answer the long-form questions? DH (former Head of Chemistry) reckons that the average student drops at least one grade from GCSE (and often two).

WeCome1 · 18/03/2023 09:15

How are the other subjects?

How bad is bad?

cansu · 18/03/2023 09:15

well your dd's interpretation of everyone else's grades may not be very accurate. The whole class (which could be a small number - is it?) may not be as smart as they should be. There are some kid doing a levels who should not be due to GCSE's being graded too generously for covid. I would be focused less on everyone else and get your dd to look at what she needs to learn / revise if she is to pass the real thing.

Violetparis · 18/03/2023 09:23

My daughter's A'level Geography teacher said to the class he could tell from their mocks that they hadn't had revision practice/experience due to missing GSCEs due to Covid.

Piggywaspushed · 18/03/2023 09:48

My classes have had loads of exam practice in year 12 and virtually did exams in year 11 . Didn't yours do in class exams in year 11? That's what replaced public exams. Ours now do two sets of mocks. I f anything will affect their final grades it will be under teaching and over testing them!

My classes all just did pretty badly in their mock. Turned out most of them didn't revise and during the study leave they were given upped their hours working in Sainsbury's/local pub/leisure centre...

Seeline · 18/03/2023 09:56

Has your DD been through her papers with the mark scheme to work out what the problem is?
Not knowing the content?
Not answering questions in the way the mark scheme wants?
Not giving full answers?
Maths letting her down?

Do this and use it to help focus revision for the actual exams.

Mocks are often marked harshly to give students a kick up the bum.

bobisbored · 18/03/2023 10:01

I work in a secondary school. Across the board our y13's performed pretty badly in their mocks. Remember it's the first time they've sat a formal exam. They didn't do GCSEs. Try not to panic. Talk to the school/college. If it's a whole class thing you can bet the teachers are working at plugging gaps.

SeasonFinale · 18/03/2023 10:11

Is this rhe cohort where they did a series of short tests knowing the subject matter for their gcses. It may just be lack of revision technique when they are having to address the entire syllabus in one/two papers.

Also chemistry is known as one of the hardest if not hardest A levels. Often schools will mark mocks harshly so students don't slack off. It is also a subject where some focused tutoring may help.

Check with the school though which it is likely to be and don't always believe the whole class did badly excuse.

Original poster
billyblueblood · 19/03/2023 08:32

Thank you everyone. We’ve emailed her teacher and are going to try to get hold of the exam paper as they weren’t allowed to keep them. She got a D and needs a B.

OP posts:
Piggywaspushed · 19/03/2023 09:25

Yes, the DFE has told all schools they need to retain mock exams 'in case'. You should be able to get a copy though.

Postapocalypticcowgirl · 19/03/2023 09:37

Was it a full mock- all 3 exams, or just one paper? If it was just one paper, which exam board and was it paper 1, 2 or 3?

Which year's grade boundaries were used?

Did she manage to complete the full paper in the time allowed?

What did she do when she was struggling with a question?

Does she have any thoughts as to why she did badly?

I would say our Y13s across the sciences are finding things tough- I think having never sat formal exams (even though they've sat lots of assessments and a set of Y12 exams) has impacted them. But I wouldn't say they are all getting 2 grades below their target (is the B a realistic target, or was it always an optimistic prediction?).

Saying "the whole class did badly" isn't always very meaningful- it's likely to be a group of <15 students and there can be big fluctuations in ability year on year. And it also won't necessarily help her achieve her uni offer.

I do think grade boundaries will be low(ish) this year, but I think it might also be worth speaking to the teacher and asking for their take.

Is there any possibility of getting a tutor to help with a bit of last minute cramming over Easter?

Postapocalypticcowgirl · 19/03/2023 09:39

Often schools will mark mocks harshly so students don't slack off. Chemistry is a pretty objective subject to mark though- it's not like an essay where the individual marker's judgement comes into it a lot.

Marking harshly vs marking leniently in chemistry and physics is often only a difference of a few marks.

RampantIvy · 19/03/2023 09:42

At DD's school the whole class did badly in one paper in a geography A level mock one year, but they managed to claw it back by the summer.
I think it was mainly one topic they hadn't covered.

Fairislefandango · 19/03/2023 09:46

Do you mean that the class have all done badly compared with the target grades the school expects them to get, or just that they are what you consider low grades? Is your dd predicted a B?

maddy68 · 19/03/2023 09:59

Exam technique varies from exam to exam so mocks highlight that. Eg computer science is notoriously difficult compared to English etc different skills and requirements to pass. Get her to practice past papers and use the mark schemes ribmstch her answers to.

mondaytosunday · 19/03/2023 10:11

My daughter's school 2019 boundaries. She did as expected.
I think if the whole class did badly then that demonstrates a lack on the teachers part, and isn't that one of the reasons they do mocks? But mocks aren't the only exam, how has the class done in other assessments? As I said, my daughter did as expected, meaning she has been assessed all along, doing past papers (in areas they have covered) several times, as well as coursework and class work - all which give an indication on not only how the individual students are doing, but how well the teacher is teaching.

noblegiraffe · 19/03/2023 10:12

How did she get on in her end of Y12 exams?

Twinedpeaks · 19/03/2023 10:19

If she's y13 why would it be covid? She would have been y10 during lockdown?
Presumably she did well in her GCSEs which were effected, and a levels are a whole different ball game.

journeyofsanity · 19/03/2023 12:17

SeasonFinale · 18/03/2023 10:11

Is this rhe cohort where they did a series of short tests knowing the subject matter for their gcses. It may just be lack of revision technique when they are having to address the entire syllabus in one/two papers.

Also chemistry is known as one of the hardest if not hardest A levels. Often schools will mark mocks harshly so students don't slack off. It is also a subject where some focused tutoring may help.

Check with the school though which it is likely to be and don't always believe the whole class did badly excuse.

Chemistry is no harder than maths or physics.