re-take of practical exams in Science A'levels. Query?

[zamantha]

My DD had her AS results today - really good and better than we hoped at this stage. However, despite 2 A's in examination Physics modules she achieved an E in the practical. My concern is she achieved an E in Mechanics Physics in Jan so we took on a tutor and she now has an A but achieved an A first time in Maths Mechanics. I've spoken to the teacher before who reassured us but she is an NQT. I can't help worrying that the teacher is not preparing as accurately as needed and want to talk to the school but obviously need to be diplomatic.

Who has experience? What can go wrong in a practical ? How can my DD avoid his? What can I reasonably check out at the school?

What board?

OCR

OK, so Qualitative, Quantitative and Evaluative Skills Assessment. Do you know what her submitted marks were? The teachers should have had a pretty good idea of her grade really, assuming they weren't adjusted in moderation.

These assessments are tricky, because we cannot give specific feedback on a completed assessment, and we certainly can't let students see their marked papers. What we have to do is prepare them in a general way for the kind of assessment they will have, and some students are good at taking that on board, and some less good. I had some students this year who really got pulled down on the skills assessments, which was hugely frustrating. They will retake them next year, and they will have had more experience of them then, and they will do better. As a rough guide, I would expect my A grade students to get min 36/40.

I would ask the school if your daughter will have the opportunity to retake, and if they are doing any practice assessments (which we always do - although it does take up time!). There are up to 3 opportunities for each assessment (although sometimes the need for equipment can be a limiter), so keep an eye on the marks as they complete them.

thank you - gives me some understanding

Every one at DS school really struggled at the practical. DS has a D which has pulled his other scores down.

It is hugely frustrating, because it is highly controlled, and you cannot give specific feedback. All I can say is that it is absolutely worth doing them again, as they will be doing the same for A2, and they will have mire experience.

Can he be tutored for practicals?

Could we ask his teacher what will he practise? Do some schools offer after school sessions to prepare? Is the equipment for this expensive?

How do we solve his underachievement here I wonder?

You need to narrow down what the problem is. There are 3 skills. Is he losing the marks in one area? We run mock skills assessments, so we can give proper feedback, but it eats into teaching time. I have a number of students who will news to redo their practical assessments. I will go through the plans with them, and their parents if they wish, at the start of term. The difficulty is that the papers are high control, so there is a limit to what you can say to the students to help them prepare, and you cannot tell them where they went wrong in previous assessments. I'd go in and chat to the teacher about it when term starts.

Thank you. Yes, seeing the teacher was what I planned to do - your info. is helpful. Am not scientific at all - Arts graduate!