Disastrous end of year exam results

[dingit]

I'm going to ban screen time/ x box during week days going into year 9. Tell me I'm not evil please.

[barrackobana]

I'm a bit confused with this thread. OP's ds has either met his target or surpassed it (if I'm reading his results correctly). What's disastrous about it ????. Don't get me wrong, i'm quite 'pushy' myself but really don't get this one.

[ElephantsNeverForgive]

You are punishing him for meeting or exceed ing his targets in everything except English, which he's missed by one paltry, means absolutely nothing sub level.

Well if you want him to hate you and do even less work next year, go right ahead. Y9's really don't need any encoragement to do nothing. They are very good at it.

Seriously his grades are better than DD1's Y8 ones and she should get As and B's in August. She's dyslexic she wouldn't get an A for English or essay based stuff however hard she works.

[ElephantsNeverForgive]

Honestly it's totally normal for Y8 grades not to look much higher than Y6 grades.

Remember a Y6 L5 is often an incredibly low 5c (DD1's was by one mark over the boundry with special measures in place). No way would a senior school teacher have given her L5 on her class work at that age.

[dingit]

Oh thanks elephant, that's so encouraging.

I've just had a phone call from school to say his maths grades were a mistake and it should have been 6b.

The reason I was not happy with maths was because this grade had been the same for two years! ( both target and attained)

I think his English result was just a blip.

And he aced science.

Ds is over the moon.

I shall still be reducing his xbox time in September though, think of me what you will.

[microcosmia]

That's great dingit it was an error so. It might need an idea to look at devices that limit time on consoles. That's what I plan to do in Sept.

My DS got 2 A's, 6 B's and 3 C's. Which is all good. But the one thing he desperately wanted to do well in was Maths and he got an E in the exam.(we're in Ireland no level 5/6/7 here he's Yr 10 equivalent). The report queried if he would stay in higher level.

Confusingly he gets a separate report from Learning Support Class and in this he got excellent in Maths with "good competency in all areas covered" but recommended he practice Maths over the summer, revise and try exam questions. So 2 very different reports indeed.

[atticusclaw]

Its not evil at all. In the long term he'll thank you for it.

[dingit]

That sounds a bit odd too Micro. At least he can pull out all the stops, which should raise his grade for next year.

[microcosmia]

Yes dingit I hope so too. His exam was very tough in the summer and at Easter only 2 or 3 of the class even passed then. He's doing higher level but there's 2 streams in higher level maths and he's in the lower one so would be borderline for dropping back to ordinary level entirely.

Any other subject and we'd be happy for him to drop level and reduce the pressure. But not having higher level maths at this stage rules out too many options further on. He's talked of doing Physics and Applied Maths (very hard Maths) as well as higher Maths for Leaving Cert (A level equivalent) and that would be impossible with ordinary level from here on. At least he's on board though he's motivated (sort of) and works for 4 hours a day on Maths with his tutor. Next week he's on summer camp for a month so he'll be away from the books til the end of August. He grumbles a bit but he knows it's the only way to help him stay in HL so he does it. If he comes to us and says he want's to give it up then he can.

[ElephantsNeverForgive]

Glad his maths was wrong. Gental reductions are one thing, banns are quite another.

I have been known to firmly suggest there is more to life than SIMs, you tube and junk TV, although in this house they are unlikely to be replaced by studying.

DD1 does art (Ok she is doing A level art, but she doesnt generally count art as work) and DD2 practices trampolining and gymnastics.

[ElephantsNeverForgive]

Also I'm ignoring maths levels because DD2's class had a supply teacher they didn't gel with at all.

There fault as much as his, they are a bit of a big headed chatty bunch.

[nigerdelta]

DS is the end of yr9. If I restricted him like OP suggests DS would just read books instead of homework, and very wilfully refuse to do any work. I'm not sure he'd deliberately fail tests, but I wouldn't want to bet on him not doing that just to spite me.

[AndyPandy21]

Yes you are rather unreasonable. Kids, especially boys, don't care about end of year exams. They are able to see what waste of time they really are. You forcing work down his throat when he does not want to do it will not help your situation.
Given his age, you should see how he develops over time and if he improves.

[ElephantsNeverForgive]

Yes I can hide DD's lap top, but not a 14ft trampoline.

I f they don't want to work, you can't force them.

[pointythings]

I think limiting screen time is a good idea in general. My DDs get half an hour on weekdays, subject to homework being done to a satisfactory standard. They're allowed more on weekends, but again, subject to homework.

We have a no Internet or TV in bedrooms rule, which applies to all of us, not just the DDs.

And Yr8 is a weird year. DD1 has made lots of progress, but not everyone in her year has - this is possibly because her primary was very tough in its level assessment and tended to mark low, so she has not had to deal with inflated levels.

[littledrummergirl]

Ds1 has just finished yr9. He did little/ no revision for his end of yr exams. He said they were only end of year, not that important and will pull out the stops for his GCSEs. He was top half of class in the end so his teachers are ok with his results.

We looked at yr9 as a relaxed yr before the hard work begins. Im not sure this approach will work with ds2 though!

[ElephantsNeverForgive]

I never understand screen bans. How in earth do you police them and what do your DCs do instead?

I'd never have anytime to myself and dinner would be burnt.

Honestly how on earth do you stop your DCs being on their phone, iPod, lap top, living room TV your bedroom TV, their DSIS tech. I can't turn the Wifi off because DH, me or sibling might well need it and DD1 has a reasonable 3G signal.

I'd literally have to tie my DDs to the dinning table where I could see them at all times. It just wouldn't work.

[JustAShopGirl]

ElephantsNeverForgive (love the name!!) - we don't limit it as such in our house, but have found we can get them to self limit or distract them from it by -

"how much homework have you got?",
"Have you done your piano practice?",
"dog needs a walk",
"Can you go get some milk from the shop?",
"shall we go swimming?",
"Haven't been to play table tennis for a while"
"I'll sign your reading record if you read for half an hour"
so we try to prioritise something else other than screen time -

though when homework is finished at the weekend, they get to overdose on the Wii/Ps3/iPad/phone/TV

I have found bans don't work - especially at the crucial early puberty teen stage - just breed resentment and build arguments - whereas making them think about what else there is to do/be done will often result in an eye roll and an "ok muuuuuuum"....

But mine will often just sit and read with some rock music on. Especially if the reading is Kerrang magazine .

[Hakluyt]

"I never understand screen bans. How in earth do you police them and what do your DCs do instead?"

I am going to sound ridiculously smug and you will hate me, but I say "ok- time to do something else" and they do.

[pointythings]

Hakluyt so do mine.

At the moment they prefer loom banding to anything screen related for the most part anyway.

Elephants turning the WiFi off really isn't a great sacrifice unless you need it for work purposes. There are no smartphones in our house, so no 3G - everything runs off WiFi or nothing. This isn't because I am against smartphones, it's just that as actual phones they are so crap. So we all have Nokia bricklets and use tablets/laptops for Internet stuff.

[ElephantsNeverForgive]

justashopgirl has it exactly! I can and do distract and send DDs off to do something else sometimes, but banning anything causes DD2 to dig her very very stubborn heels in and become her own worse enemy. Young teens are, as you say, particularly resent any control freakery from parents - that's their department!

(A couple of days a week DH is working, so taking out the wifi doesn't work and school maths is mostly on line.)

[ChazsBrilliantAttitude]

I just tell them its time to do something else. I don't stop them in the middle of something but say save the game at the end of that level and go and play outside, read a book, help with the dinner.

One thing with limiting screen time is that I have to give a bit more of my time to the children but they are happy to help with cooking the dinner etc. if they are also getting my attention.

[JustAShopGirl]

mine are 12 and 13 and the LAST thing they want is my attention...

they are growing up, and want to spread their wings their way (as I remember wanting to do too).

watching tv with the family (which is screen time) is their way of saying I do want to be with you sometimes mum, but on my terms.

I would be worried if they hopped to it if I told them to stop doing something they wanted to do, but that is OUR family dynamic - everyone is different.

[Hakluyt]

"mine are 12 and 13 and the LAST thing they want is my attention..."

Doesn't mean they don't need it................

[pointythings]

Mine are 11 and 13, and among the many things I want them to be doing is their share of the housework. They don't like it, who does? But it needs to be done and they have to do their bit. So when I tell them to put down the tablet because the dishes need doing/the laundry needs sorting/they have to get their stuff ready for tomorrow, they do it. I do let them find a natural stopping point though, I'm not a brute.