2024 exam thread

[motheronthedancefloor]

Hows everyone's kids getting on with their exams / studying?

DDs first Higher exam is D&M I think. She's been busy working on past papers but feels fairly confident. She is least confident about Chemistry.

My DD found Nat 5s a lot easier than Highers, it's quite a big jump up and I'm not sure they have felt entirely prepared for that. Especially as I think this is the first 'proper' exam marking year after COVID, but I could be wrong on that point.

It’s so much to cover. She thinks she’s done well in section 3, answered section 2 but she wasn’t sure whether it’s right. Didn’t do anything for section 1. She wants to do AH Drama so she needs a C at the minimum.

No time to think about it. On to English tomorrow. I don’t remember A levels being this brutal.

They will likely adjust the grade boundary if it’s an “easy” paper

@theferry Hopefully it went better than your DD thought, always so hard to know in the moment. Mine wants to do AH Drama too, so fingers crossed. English next for us too, so at least a few days for more revision before then.

DS1 has found the jump absolutely huge between Nat 5 and Higher. He did okay at Nat 5 - not straight As by any means but Higher is definitely more difficult.
Drama H sounds very tough if they ran out of time.

It's always been that way though, and is why so many schools start the Higher syllabus early June as soon as the exams are over. I remember the huge shift in gear from O Grade to Higher when I did them, and my sister who was the first year to do the new standard grades was the same.

Yes, I think it's great they start in June, gives them a little bit more time.

I find it very odd that they start studying in June—before they know whether they have the grades to do it. The syllabus should be cut back if they can’t cover it in the academic year.

DD seems to be okay with the jump from N5 to Higher, I'm more worried about the jump from Higher to AH next year.

All this talk from PP about exams being 'easier' this year makes me anxious. Could that mean the SQA increase the grade boundaries, rather than lowering them, which could make it harder to get the grade you want / need?

It's been like this for the last quarter of a century or so! June basically is part of the academic year. There's also the lead in to university courses (if you do less at Higher) being affected, and the comparisons with A level.
I wouldn't worry too much about the grade boundaries. If your dc would have normally got 85/100 (for example) and it was easier and they got 95/100; the teenagers who would expect to get 60/100 might go up to 70... it won't be the case that everyone walks out with 100% and the qualification is devalued.

The teachers will know who is able for Higher and who is not. We had a parents' evening in about February and as well as talking about prelims and Nat 5s, we were asking about whether the teacher thought DS would be a good Higher prospect. They were able at that point to say yes he'd cope easily, yes but he'd need to put in a lot of work, or probably not.

Also, kids don't need to have passed the Nat 5 to sit the Higher. Everyone can have a mare on the day and a student predicted an A grade comes out with a much lower grade. When DS sat his Nat 5s he was predicted A for computing and when the results came out he had a D and had already started the Higher course, the teacher said immediately that he should continue in the Higher class because he was more than able and that clearly something had gone wrong - transpired that the SQA had "lost" more than half of his exam paper.

It's been like this for the last quarter of a century or so!

Even longer, I sat my O Grades in 1988 which is over 30 years ago... (how did that happen)

Interesting, I sat my Standard Grades in the 90's and we didn't start the higher syllabus till August.

In a practical sense, what would they do if they didn't start the H course in June? Or are you suggesting the exams are later? Because then they wouldn't be marked in time for an August term start, and they'd be in the same position in August, with the re-coursing much harder.

Given the situation of the last four years with exams/non exams/modified exams, I don't think you can decipher what is an easy exam, what is easy for one may be a struggle for another, some are hell bent on getting A's, some are just happy to pass. I agree re the school having input into who is capable of doing Higher being important, my DD does well in Drama and expected a decent mark but her teacher has advised her to do NPA6 rather than higher as she struggles with extended pieces of writing and the Higher would require a lot of that.

College/Uni drop out rates are the highest they have been, is this in part to the inflated marks that people apparently got during Covid? I have a friend in this situation and she says if she is honest her daughter would never have passed Higher in a "normal" exam situation, her results meant she got a place in further education but has since dropped out as can't cope with the level of work.

Last years Nat5 maths was a horrible paper, apparently this year’s was much more straightforward (some of my
son’s friends were resitting). I’m hoping Higher is going to be ok!
I did a mix of O Grades and Standard Grades back in the very early 90s and we moved up to S5 in the June then so it’s definitely not new.

From what I can see, the June of Highers is a chance to essentially have a taster and make sure that by the end of the month you are 100% sure that you have chosen the right courses. A lot of kids changed courses over the month of June in my daughter's school and she actually reflected on one over the summer and decided to change for August. Was so glad of that as if she had continued with that one, it could have been a disaster. It certainly wasn't intensive learning in June. Much better to do that then than to risk pupils wanting to change their mind in Sept, when really it would be too late.

Poor DD has been in tears over the drama exam. She says she’s given up on passing the exams. She’s badly dyslexic and everything takes her x3 longer to do. She gets extra time, but she still invariably doesn’t finish the paper. I’m trying to jolly her along but she looks so defeated

Hello

Can I ask if anyone knows about Nat 5 maths in terms of grade boundaries? My daughter just sat the maths paper and today there appears to be rumours that it was easy and the paper has now been released. If it does appear to be easy, would they change the 50% as a pass. And for an A, can they change it being 70%?

Yes, the 50, 60 and 70 are notional and are subject to change every year. Last year's are available to see, if you search SQA grade boundaries.

I saw last year all went down. I'm asking more in terms of boundaries increasing and in particular the A2 and 1 - would it ever change to an A you need 75% for??

@jonnyrose I assume won't be too much difference but the biology nat5 paper in 2023 was thought to be 'easy' so an
A2 was 77% and A1 a crazy 92%!! A grade C for a pass was 53% which isn't that much higher considering the exam was very straightforward.
I don't think maths will be as high as that though as it's a subject with a wider ability range.

That sounds tough. Hopefully the next one will go a bit better and give her confidence a wee boost. It's such a lot of pressure on them at this age. Hope she is okay.

Really though, does it matter? If they are carrying on with that subject at Higher, then the grade at Nat 5 doesn't matter. Especially the difference between the bands.

Yes I think it matters especially with Nat 5 maths that many don't take onto higher level.