AS Level - poor results - what next??

[jewel1968]

My DC got AS results BDD. Was hoping for ABC. Wants to study psychology at Uni. They are dyslexic and exam results can vary wildly. Had very little support over the years with their dyslexia. My question is is there any hope that they will get into any Uni as I imagine the predicted grades will be very much in line with AS levels. What practically can they do now? If they were to get specialist dyslexia support and if the level of effort increased I believe they may get decent grades next year but would that make any difference given uni offers are based on predicted. Any advice very much welcome.

If you do better than predicted so want to try for a 'better' university/course, there is a process called 'adjustment' you can go through. Don't know anything more helpful though.

Thanks. I had hoped that might be an option. It would be an incentive to work hard.

But with predicted grades most likely based on AS levels I don't think any university would make an offer. And my understanding is that you have to have a firm offer in order to go through the adjustment process. Likely they would have to wait another year. Deeply frustrating.

Schools don't have to predict the same A-level results as AS, especially as they now don't count towards the final result. If your DS thinks he can do better then he needs to come up with a plan of action to improve his results, present it to his teachers and then enact it.

What are the entry requirements for Psychology at various universities? Anglia Ruskin University, for example, requires 96 UCAS points or two A Levels. That seems eminently achievable with those AS results?

What special consideration does he get in his exams? - extra time, laptop, reader, scribe?

The predicted grades should be done holistically rather than based entirely on AS grades.

Noblegiraffe I am confused (not for the first time!). My DS did two ASs this year and thinks they absolutely count towards his A level grade. He ended up with A and C in two papers, giving a B overall in a subject he needs an A in and so is planning to resit as he needs 320 UMS overall to get an A and it's pretty challenging to aim for 90 in each of next June's two papers. Have we misunderstood the system?

Depends on the subjects as there are still some modular AS Levels left. Maths and Government and Politics were both still modular I think. Most are now linear and decoupled now though.

party sorry, you're right, it's complicated. Most AS's don't count any more. The main subject that still does this year is mathd. Others are:
accounting
ancient history
classical civilisation
design and technology
electronics
environmental science
film studies
further mathematics
geology
government and politics
history of art (A level only) 1
law
mathematics
media studies
modern foreign languages (Chinese, Italian, Russian)
music technology
philosophy
statistics

Then a handful more obscure ones next year.

Thanks for responses. His plan is to work 'his ass off' and he has already disconnected his PS4 to limit distraction. He gets extra time and can use a laptop in exams. He doesn't use laptop in class tests or in classroom so using a laptop is an irregular experience and usually at times of high stress (exams). He can excel and can score very highly but is inconsistent. I suspect stress of exams can cause his dyslexia to worsen. I imagine grade prediction is difficult for teachers given his inconsistency. Over the years he is usually described as one of their most able pupils but it does not always follow that exam results will match. Deeply frustrating for all concerned. I am hoping for holistic approach and perhaps something in school reference that explains the background.

What sort of plan does a teacher want to see? I imagine they want detail. Is a plan something he could work up with the senco?

As a teacher I wouldn't be impressed by 'I plan to work harder', I'd expect the student to get their AS papers back, identify their weak areas, then come up with a timetable of extra work with regular deadlines by which certain topics should be reviewed and resources (e.g. Revision guides/videos) that would be used.

If your DC can use a laptop in exams, the school has to be able to show evidence that it is their normal way of working. In my school, each subject team has to send a copy of an assessment completed on an exam laptop to the SENCO. If a student is allowed extra time, in their assessments/practice questions, we ask them to change colour or note on their laptop. We then mark the work up to the extra time and add on the extra marks they gained in their extra time to show the value of it. This too is copied and sent to the SENCO. I annotate mine with e.g. 47 marks - grade D in normal time. An extra 8 marks gained in their 25% extra making 55 which s grade B (numbers/grades complete fiction here).

We have been told that if we are unable to supply this evidence, parents will be notified and the student may well lose the right to the extra time/laptop.

If your DC is allowed to use a laptop, I would suggest a chat with the SENCO and exams officer as soon as they are back at school to put interventions in so that it becomes their normal way of working.

Thanks. I thought a teacher would want more than promises. We did request some of his GCSE papers for that very reason. We have yet to receive them. Handed the school the form and cheque too.

Very interesting what you describe about extra time. I had no idea. He us allowed to use laptop in class but it is not practical for some subjects and physically it is not practical much of the time. I don't think he always gets extra time during inyear tests. Again due to practicalities. Agree a SEN meeting is required. Thanks again...

He is working on a plan based on the areas he thinks he most likely lost marks. We will call for papers but given we have yet to receive the GCSE papers I think it better to plan sooner rather than later.

Part of the plan will also need to address the challenges his dyslexia presents in exam scenarios. I do not know how many marks lost can be attributed to his dyslexia (which is why we ordered the GCSE papers) and so planning around that will be tricky.

I would be really interested in your thoughts on how to engage with SEN in respect of mitigating the impact his dyslexia has. As said before he gets extra time and can use keyboard (not for all subjects) but in terms of support helping him understand how to work with his dyslexia he has had very little over the years. Teachers at parents evening expressed their frustration at the mismatch between his obvious knowledge and written outputs and on several occasions did not even know he was dyslexic. Thanks for your thoughts and suggestions so far.

I think I would ask for an urgent meeting with the SENDCO at the school. This information should be known by all teachers and it is a failing of the school if they do not understand his difficulties and make provison for them which is more than a lap top and extra time. I would talk to them about how his exam technique can be improved and see if there is someone in school who can advise on this. Or maybe engage time with a Dyslexia specialist to help him organise his thoughts and then put them down on paper. I would look at getting the maximum marks from the least writing but not sure if that is possible. Trying to organise revision and fill in the gaps will not be easy without experienced help and I hope you get it.

When he was given his extra time, was he given help with how to use it?

Some students who need extra time have previously run out of time so use the extra time to finish the paper. Others previously rushed to finish so need to use the extra time to slow down and take their time to plan/think through responses rather than just dashing them off or skipping out questions.

What about using a highlighter on key words or underlining? Using a ruler to keep his place when reading long texts?
You can get software that scans text and reads it to you which might be useful for revision?

I'm not a SENCO, I'm just throwing out some things that my students have found useful.

Thanks Bubbles. We tried that after GCSES. I complained and he was given a few lessons in exam techniques (about 4 I think) and techniques like mind mapping but fairly generic and would benefit anyone not only those with dyslexia. I work with someone with dyslexia and she has all manner of tools to help her from coloured paper to voice activated software. She is very productive and a real asset to the team.

I have been going around in circles for years. Speak or write to SENCO and they promise to do stuff or on one occasion confide in me about how difficult their job is to get teachers to understand neuro diversity. Meanwhile a very bright kid is getting results way below what everyone (including teachers) think he is capable of. In one subject he is considered gifted and talented by the school then he gets a D. Fully intend to ask for meeting with SENCO but this time I want to achieve something hence asking you lovely folk for any tips. Thanks again.

what specialist provision do you think is available that you want him to have for dyslexia?

I think he has hit the nail on the head himself, the extra provision required to mitigate dyslexia at his age is lock away the PS4 and work harder!

using a lap top is ok, but has its limits, over reliance prevents development of organisational skills, and of course hand writing deteriorates very fast.

If he is misreading questions he might be entitled to a reader, otherwise dyslexia isn't so much an issue in exams as it is in learning, and for that he will need to spend more time on learning than his peers.

she has all manner of tools to help her from coloured paper

I don't really understand your complaint, he can use any colour paper he wants, surely

In answer to some of your questions:

As far as I know he has not been told how to use the extra time.

I don’t know enough about dyslexia to understand what specific provision would help him in managing his dyslexia. I am not an expert and so was looking to the SENCO for that expert input.

I don’t think it is about working harder but about working smarter. Understanding his own limitations and having tools to help mitigate those limitations. Teachers confirm he has the knowledge as is evidenced by his verbal contributions which would suggest he is learning and retaining the information but is not able to replicate this in writing or typing in some (not all) exam scenarios. I think stress makes things worse.

Colour paper doesn’t work for every dyslexic and I have no idea if it would make any difference to him. I was just using this as an example of someone who is dyslexic and has tools tailored to their particular needs. This is why I would like the expert (SENCO) to help him (and his teachers) understand how his dyslexia impacts in exam scenarios.

I think the biggest problem with a laptop/keyboard is that he has to hop between paper (diagrams) and the keyboard which must be confusing.

We have not seen the latest dyslexia assessment and so are not aware of what it says (I have asked) about how it presents in him and what might help him manage it.

His dyslexia may not be the issue in exams (although I suspect it is a big contributor) but without expert analysis of some of his test papers we will never know.

I have raised all of the above at various times with teachers and the SENCO but nothing ever seems to happen. Thanks again for your suggestions.

Colour paper doesn’t work for every dyslexic and I have no idea if it would make any difference to him.

but he would know, there is no reason why he cannot try out different colours for himself he can start just by changing the back ground and font colour on his lap top and seeing what he likes.

There is no professional input required, he just needs to find his own work arounds, and yes, work harder and longer, as he will be slower.

"dyslexia" doesn't have a specific definition, you know, it is just difficulty in processing or expressing some formats of information, compared to others, so there is no "experts" as such, every brain is different.

On your original question, my DD got BCDD in her AS exams and A*AB in her A levels, so it is possible to make a significant improvement. She dropped the 'C' subject so went into Yr13 with BDD.

She was offered her first choice on results day but went through Adjustment and chose a more challenging course. The university guaranteed accommodation for adjustment candidates so she was not disadvantaged in any way in the end.

Agreed Copper but my understanding is that the assessments help you understand what works for you and gives ideas on what you could try. When he was much younger he had a very detailed assessment (NHS Hospital ) which provided a huge amount of information but that was about 10 years ago and he will have changed and as yet we have not seen any information from any subsequent assessment that could help understand how he processes information. I don’t think it is right to say he needs to find his own ‘work arounds’ and no professional input is required. For a start some of his preferred work arounds may not be allowed in an exam scenario.

Tranquillity – that is very positive story. Thank you for sharing.

When he was much younger he had a very detailed assessment

Its different for a young child, but by his age, he needs to be taking responsibility for his own education

Tranquillity - did her predicted grades match her AS levels grades?

Sorry, Jewel No, her teachers thought she could do better and gave her higher predictions. I'm not sure what they were but she had offers of ABB and AAB from the universities she chose.

I'm not sure which subjects your son is doing but I think part of DD's improvement was due to developing a much more mature writing style. The subjects in which she showed the greatest improvement were essay subjects.