Child's GCSE result doesn't make sense?

[Motheroftwo1219]

My DD took her Chinese GCSE in Year 9. She is fluent in the language as she has lived there before. We received the results from the school via email this morning, due to a few mishaps the school couldn't get the results on time. She has gotten full marks in every single unit except the second unit in which she scored a D! This is with edexcel and is the speaking assessment. My DD told me that when she went in after working on the work with me, the school 'teacher'/language officer told her that the work was incorrect and you had to do a presentation and also a talking assessment? Therefore, on the spot she had to write and memorise one of these assessments. I talked to the teacher afterwards and she told me it should've went ok. But then how could she get full marks on every unit except one and do exceptionally worse on the remaining? She's a fluent speaker. The school didn't provide support nor guidance when she did her exams at all. It was all independent.

Was she an independent candidate? How did you prepare her for the exam ? Did you check the specification?

I find that native speaker pupils often achieve much lower grades than expected because they do not speak in a way that allows them to score well on the grade related criteria. For example they often give short answers or do not speak in full sentences. Sometimes they do not use the range of tenses or vocabulary necessary for a higher grade. Could this have happened?

It went with the school giving my daughter the information for the controlled assessments and she would write them, or learn whatever. I helped her out as a mother.

She wasn't given a criteria therefore that may have caused the drop. We will check on edexcel the reviews once the school gives us the login and password.

Could well be to do with the mark scheme. DS1 has done a German speaking assessment in which the marking was very structured; he had to use four different tenses in quite a short amount of speech.

Criteria are usually freely available online. I'm still unsure of the situation, is this a completely self-taught subject?

Because she didn't need any teaching or learning before taking the exam, she was given work from the language teacher that was needed for the gcse. She would complete the Controlled assessment's at home and take the exam in school.

Who decided what board? Did you look at the specifications yourself to be sure of the requirements?

Certainly for the European MFLs there is quite firm criteria.
Show off different tenses, complex sentences, time phrases, comparisons, opinions, ask a question. If you don't do all that you drop marks. If you stick to present tense for example that would severely impact I think.

No idea about Chinese but DD took Edexcel Japanese as a private candidate a her school this summer. We had to find someone to do the speaking exam with her which took some doing but I found a lady who had previously done some work as an examiner for Edexcel so knew exactly what they were looking at in the speaking exam.

DD had a number of sessions with her and she was thoroughly drilled on a number of topics and told that for the Japanese speaking the examiners are looking for it to flow like a conversation and looking for very specific things to give the marks.

Unfortunately it sounds as others have said that she didn't say what was required because she wasn't aware of what was needed. Could she resit?

I agree with PP, sounds as tho she may not have covered all the requirements, not through lack of ability/knowledge but simply because she didn't know.

I have taught a student who spoke the language well having living in the country - he could do a speaking task without revision/drafting but yes, would often answer questions too simply - as you would in your native tongue.

As a simplified example - if I asked you what sport you liked and you said "football" you'd get no marks, but if you answered "I really enjoy football it's brilliant" then you would get marks. The first is I guess how you might actually answer!

Isn't the very nature if controlled assessment that it is done under supervision? I am that it was allowed to be done at home!

I also often find that native speakers don't give enough detail in speaking assessments, as 'good' answers are pretty artificial and sound unnatural.

And to extend from clary saying "I really enjoy football, it's brilliant, because it keeps me fit and I am able to meet my friends" would be an even better answer.

She would complete the Controlled assessment's at home and take the exam in school.

then sorry, she should have been disqualified.

Agree with PP. When DS was preparing for controlled assessments for Chinese I commented that his ideas were a bit contrived but he knew that he had to use particular tenses and complex vocabulary correctly in order to get good marks.

I assume op means she practiced the speaking controlled assessment tasks at home and was then examined at school with recordings taken etc.

OP it does sound as if neither of you were fully aware the requirements and so she didn't fulfil the task. Whether that was your fault for not checking the spec or the school's fault isn't for us to say as it's unclear who wanted her to sit this exam.

I gave come across this before in situations where the student is better than the teacher at the language and uses complex modern idiom that the teacher doesn't get.