I need to go in and see the teacher, don't I?

[LittenTree]

DS1 is 'able' as in 'is capable of 9 or 10 decent GCSE passes, and most probably university'.

He attends the 'best performing comp' in the county as measured by exam results.

They do 'Business and Communications GCSE' at the end of Y10, presumably because they recognise that to a 'good', 'school-ready', 'MC' cohort it's 'a gift'.

DS has just admitted, after some wheedling from me- he got a D in the end of Y9 exam.

I am Not Happy.

He and I revised the reasonably detailed 'revision sheet'. Block a business letter? Check. H&S? Check. Methods of reimbursement? Check. All his notes were presented in text boxes, as in:
-a
-b
-c
etc.

I am a H&S officer; DH is in IT. DS has had lots of help in his revision.

I have No Idea why he did so badly. He is a quiet, well behaved DS who is generally achieving well. Or as well as our expectation would, well, Expect.

So. D?

Why have we not received a personal communication from the teacher who is the Head of IT telling us of our DS's, well, FAILURE? Why has his exam not been sent home? Why did a 'D' from such a DC not ring alarm bells?

Why have our comprehensive schools not grasped that fundamental of a successful educational outcome, i.e. Child/Teacher/PARENT?! The famous Japanese three legged stool? Is that So Hard?

I am not blaming the teacher for his failure as such but I am suggesting that this glaring failure should have been immediately drawn to our attention so we can see what went wrong.

Did he give one word answers to questions? He claims not.

Miss the point entirely?

He has No Idea why he did so badly. He hasn't been told, just that his performance was 'disappointing'. And we have no exam to look at.

Like everyone, I am busy. I shouldn't have to go in and see, if not confront this teacher. They should have told ME there's 'a problem'.

Rant over but I am Not Impressed.

[YouStayClassySanDiego]

DS has just admitted, after some wheedling from me- he got a D in the end of Y9 exam.

I know it's a month old thread but I'll stick my two pennies in, I would be concerned that he is worried about opening up to you because your idea of whatfailure is is bothering him. Be wary about putting too much pressure on him, your OP suggests you might be a little intense.

As you were.

[ukjess]

sometimes D is a real success.

[ukjess]

D is often not a fail.
It depends on context and personal targets.

If a kid has a prediction of an E but with tremendous work and application gets a D then thats a success, however you want to dress it.

As to what the other posters have said I would urge you heed their advice and relax a tad:)

[ShipwreckedAndComatose]

Why have our comprehensive schools not grasped that fundamental of a successful educational outcome, i.e. Child/Teacher/PARENT?! The famous Japanese three legged stool? Is that So Hard?

This sweeping statement, based on your unfair extrapolation from one exam in one subject in one school, comes as a result of your anger and frustration at not understanding what is going on, yes?

Because it in no way reflects my experience and comes across as very rude and aggressive.

[olivevoir58]

Because the school use this gcse as a 'barometer' to guage how well the cohort will perform in the other subjects at the end of Y11. They also use it as 'taster' for the year group to understand the level of work needed to achieve a gcse. Also the RE lessons are freed up in Y11 for English and maths. This is an historical arrangement. The school has always done this and doesn't do early entry for any other subject, not even for its highest attainers, of which there are many. Though they now do science gcse in Y10 as well (with additional or triple in Y11). I personally don't agree with early entry but think this arrangement is sensible.

[xylem8]

olivevoi8r so why didn'y your school give it an extra year if 50% are failing to get to A or A*

[olivevoir58]

At my dds school (a high performing c of e comp) the whole cohort takes RE gcse in Y10. In my dds year 50% achieved a - c in the Y9 mock (based only on y9 coverage). In the actual Y10 exam 51% achieved A/A and 88% achieved A*- C. I mention this only as it seems like similar scenario and also to show likely progression. From these results you can see that a D in Y9 likely predicted a B in Y10.

[xylem8]

why oh why are the school putting your kid in early for this exam if they are only forecasting a B for her ? I hate this policy of lots of gcse at mediocre grades and re sits to give the school the highest number of a to c passes, rather than aiming for a clean sweep of as and a *s passed at first attempt

[EduCated]

It is more than possible they were marked to GCSE standard but that the questions set only cover what has even taught so far. They aren't mutually exclusive.

[burberryqueen]

comment from marriedinwhite about 'bright children' and GCSE subjects a bit silly IMO

[cricketballs]

marriedinwhiteagain - "I'd be worried if my dc were studying something as vocational as Business and Communication for GCSE tbh. Doesn't it get in the way of English, Eng Lit, French, Latin, Physics, Maths, Geography Chemistry, Biology, RS, etc, for a bright child?"

so should only 'thick' students need to learning about the work place? Forgive me whilst I tell my previous students who are at Oxbridge/Russell Group that they should never have bothered with a vocational course such as Business.....(even though there isn't a career invented yet that will not use something they learnt in the course at some point)

[cricketballs]

This thread has been an interesting read! There are though a couple of points I would like to comment on....

"No, the school screwed up" sorry, but no the school hasn't screwed up at all. They set a test, your DS didn't do as well as you expected; in his report will be the information.

"They do 'Business and Communications GCSE' at the end of Y10, presumably because they recognise that to a 'good', 'school-ready', 'MC' cohort it's 'a gift'." again no! Business and Communications is not a gift, it is a qualification that (depending on the board) usually has a weighting that is 50% coursework. This works in favour of year 9 starting the course so they can see an justification in the work that they are doing (which is often a downfall to year 9). It is based on the types of software usually seen in the workplace (offices) and is based around problem solving and therefore suits the curriculum for ICT. The business part of the spec is the sort of thing that every young person should be aware of for the adult life. It is not easy, and it is not a gift (as you have been witness to)

"I readily agree that there was detail missing which she said she wasn't surprised about at this stage etc, but, overall his grasp of the subject was 'solid' and so forth... which still doesn't really tally with a 'D', does it?" yes it does! I mark GCSE papers and the key to success is to fill in the detail, answer the question linking to the scenario, bring in the factors surrounding the question; all of which is practice and experience which he will gain in the next 12 months.

As other posters have said; you are in for a rude awakening over the next couple of years...intelligence counts for something; practice, experience and the teachers' input count for a lot more.

From reading your posts, I do feel for your DS - if a D grade in year 9 is not good enough in your eyes; what will he do if he struggles to meet your expectations? His parents experience and knowledge do not give him a GCSE grade A - he has to do the work and you have to let him do the work and let him face the reality of not doing enough work

[Clary]

"IME no one in their right mind should trust the teachers at a "best performing comp" or any other comp probably for that matter to be doing the best for anyone's DC! "

Blimey that's a bit depressing happygardening. Really? What exactly do you think the teachers are doing then? You actually don't think they are doing the best for any students? Surely that's their job?

Doing the best for all the students is certainly difficult, but surely most teachers are doing pretty well for some of their students...?

[marriedinwhiteagain]

I'd be worried if my dc were studying something as vocational as Business and Communication for GCSE tbh. Doesn't it get in the way of English, Eng Lit, French, Latin, Physics, Maths, Geography Chemistry, Biology, RS, etc, for a bright child?

[xylem8]

Crikey you sound hard work OP.The report is the standard method of feedback to parents why would the teacher have to make immediate personal contact with you separately before that?
I find it hard to believe the teacher did not go through the exam afterwards with the students, so your child should have a clear idea of where he went wrong, and if not needs to be asking the teacher for clarification. You need to back off a bit and remember that your DC is the student not you!!

[Cassieyellow]

The main issue here is that the pupil himself, 'didn't know' what he had done wrong. He should be encouraged to be an independent learner and go ask himself. The teacher would be far more impressed with that rather than Mummy calling up. As usual, children aren't always self motivated to achieve and improve their progress because they are used to others doing it. If there is still 2 more years to go then these parents have got a lot more revision to do! Good luck with that. Sadly this child Will struggle at A Level and University. Well done parents...

[lljkk]

If OP came on to say "I'm worried" she would have had plenty sympathy.

Instead from the start OP came across as entitled and indignant. With no sense of perspective.

[titchy]

[pusspusslet]

Um... titchy! Blasted iPad speelcheeker!

[pusspusslet]

Doh and aargh!!! I meant twitchy, not twitchy!!! Sorry

[pusspusslet]

No probs, twitchy :) Bagpuss is actually a better name. Should have thought of it first!

I understand what you're saying, but tests that come before the real thing are an indicator of likely success/failure. I got the impression that that's why the OP was concerned.

[titchy]

Sorry puspuss

[titchy]

There's a massive difference between an end of term test and a GCSE bagpuss! Last time I checked universities weren't asking for applicants' results at the end of year 9.....

[BackforGood]

pusspuss 0 I think it is the confrontational language and aggressive sounding stance, rather than a question about what others would do in this circumstance perhaps. Maybe added to the fact that she is micro managing his homework / revision and that he was afraid to tell her he'd got a low grade in something.