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Secondary education

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Original poster

End of Year Assesments - short notice

44 replies

BackInTime · 08/06/2018 07:15

DS was told this week that they would be end of year assessments in 2 subjects next week. The assessments will cover all topics for the entire school year. Just wondering how much notice other schools give as this seems pretty short notice to me to cover so much work?

OP posts:
Addy2 · 08/06/2018 07:16

How old is DS? In primary school generally no notice is given because we don't expect them to revise and don't want to stress them out.

Addy2 · 08/06/2018 07:17

Lol, sorry. Just noticed what thread we're in! Do they always have end of year tests?

Middleoftheroad · 08/06/2018 07:20

My DS (y7) has just told me he has three end of year assessments next week and has just found this out, so may be fairly standard.

Are you concerned?

Clutterbugsmum · 08/06/2018 07:25

DD1 high school e mails about 6 weeks before their end of year assessments and it also on the school calendar. So we know well in advance when they are coming up.

Middleoftheroad · 08/06/2018 07:31

We didn't know and DS is away at camp all weekend and will come back Sunday exhausted going into this.

To rephrase my question - should I be concerned? I just tookit with a pinch of salt, vut is this a big 'thing'?

Original poster
BackInTime · 08/06/2018 08:52

@Middle At DS school it does matter because it is a decider for sets next year.

OP posts:
ReservoirDogs · 08/06/2018 09:34

Presumably all the kids have had the same notice so it shouldn't make a difference

Middleoftheroad · 08/06/2018 10:54

Thanks @Backintime

Perfectly1mperfect · 08/06/2018 11:08

At our school they have always been in June, so it's never a shock. Some teachers send their own email with the exact date of the test, usually with 2 weeks notice and a list of all the topics which will be in it. Some teachers just casually mention it to the kids in the lesson before the test, so maybe 3 days before the test. As they have a test at the end of every half term, if they have revised for those mini tests, the revision for the end of year tests usually isn't too painful. They also spend a couple of lessons revising for a lot of subjects too.

Hopefully your son will know a lot of it and can just concentrate on the things he's not so sure on. Good teachers should take into account more than the end of year test result.

TeenTimesTwo · 08/06/2018 11:43

I think for content heavy subjects like maths and science that is not enough notice.
For cumulative skill based subjects such as English language it should be fine.

DD, y8, has had around 4 weeks notice for her end of year assessments next week. But the information for the humanities is only appearing this week. It is mainly testing skills, not knowledge for whole year so they have a single topic to revise for each one.

MarchingFrogs · 08/06/2018 12:32

At all the schools ours have attended, all the end of year exam periods have been put up on the school calendar at the beginning of the year. However, they have had regular written assessments during each year, so the end of year one is less of a big deal. These are state grammar schools - DD also attended a comprehensive school in year 7, where they had less in the way of formal assessments during year, but we still knew well in advance when her actual exams would be.

For formal assessments on which next year's sets are based, with no interim assessments, a week or two seems rather short notice.

PotteringAlong · 08/06/2018 12:36

If they usually have end of year tests it can’t be any great surprise to him that they’re happening?

Lonecatwithkitten · 08/06/2018 13:06

End of year are the same week every year, the first week after half term. The entire senior school is off timetable.

BarbarianMum · 08/06/2018 14:20

Sounds the same here. They won't be setted just on the basis of these assessments (or at least not in ds1's school).

sonnyboo · 08/06/2018 14:32

Considering that they've been taught the subjects for a whole school year and given that they're all in the same position, the length of notice for internal exams shouldn't matter.

TeenTimesTwo · 08/06/2018 14:45

Considering that they've been taught the subjects for a whole school year and given that they're all in the same position, the length of notice for internal exams shouldn't matter.

I disagree, (especially for less able children.)

Given good notice of the timing, format, and content of exams enables good revision habits to be learned and built up. It also allows the students who may need to take longer to come to grips with learning the material sufficient time to do so.

For example, an able mathematician will quite likely be able to walk into an end of year maths test with zero preparation and still get very good marks, because they find it easy, and understood and memorised the information first time.
A less able mathematician may well have forgotten the topics studied in December, especially if they haven't been built on since then, and needs warning to revise through the topics.
Similar for science.

Also there is no point with posters effectively saying they should be keeping on top of all the learning throughout the year. For less able students this just isn't feasible.
Compounding this by sending them into end of year tests without reasonable time to prepare won't do anyone any favours.

Original poster
BackInTime · 08/06/2018 14:45

I agree they will all be in the same position but given the importance the school place on these assessments it would be better if they were given a chance to fully prepare. In the past they have given at least 3-4 weeks notice.

OP posts:
Original poster
BackInTime · 08/06/2018 14:54

@teen Exactly this. DS is now trying to cram a years work of work for 2 subjects he finds difficult into one week. A good lesson in cramming but not a good way to learn how to revise properly.

OP posts:
Original poster
BackInTime · 08/06/2018 14:54

*worth

OP posts:
Heifer · 08/06/2018 17:58

When DD was in Yr 7 & 8 there was a weeks notice (dates changed so can't assume).
Now in Yr9 we had a months notice and parents were sent a letter to ensure we knew about I and to encourage revision etc.

user1471530109 · 08/06/2018 18:08

I'm about to give notice to year 8 parents that the students will have an end of key stage 3 the first week in July. I had meant to do it today Blush but completely forgot.

It WONT be the only thing we rely on to set them. They don't have other end of year assessments as far as I remember, so hoping all will go calmly.

cant believe I didn't sort the letter out

AChickenCalledKorma · 08/06/2018 20:19

We had similar in year 7 - including the fact that we were all away on a totally exhausting Scout family camp for the weekend immediately before the exams. As it turned out, it really didn't matter - nothing actually hinged on the exams and the school was just trying to get them into the swing of having exams in the big hall. But I do think it would have been better to have more time and give them a chance to learn how to revise.

Since then they have given increasing amounts of notice for end of year exams, so I think staff have noticed that it's actually a good idea to take them more seriously.

Floottoot · 08/06/2018 22:05

I'm with you, OP and teen.
Although both my children knew that they had end of year exams coming up in all subjects, they were only given full details of all the topics in the week before half term, and the exams are next week.
DS is in year 7. He is bright and able, so apart from some brushing up on maths ( his least confident subject), he really hasn't needed to do more than scan through his books and end-of- topic test papers.
DD, on the other hand, is in year 9 and has SpLD, specifically related to poor working memory and concentration. I have spent hours and hours just trying to sort out a million loose papers stuffed in her books, and patching up unfinished work. There is NO way she can remember stuff from even last term, let alone last September, and she has had to re-learn a year's worth of work in 10 subjects...in a fortnight. Needless to say, it's been stressful and soul destroying.

Ggirl27 · 08/06/2018 22:41

Probably going to get flamed for this but end of year tests are the one test where you want your DC to show what they can do without huge amounts of revision. They are there to measure your DCs natural ability and usually the results get taken into account along with their classwork and homework performance over the course of the year. If your child finds a subject challenging what is the point of them moving to a higher set so they risk not being able to cope with the work in the coming year?

TeenTimesTwo · 09/06/2018 10:22

Ggirl Totally disagree. Smile

I obviously don't want my DC moving to a set beyond her capability, (but I know the school won't do that). However I also don't want her moving down a set because she had forgotten what a mode is, or the area of a triangle when she is quite capable at those topics usually.

Additionally, I don't think tests are to check 'natural ability'. They are to check whether the DC can understand / do the required work. Presumably you don't advocate doing GCSEs with no revision?

My 'natural ability' at science is pretty high, but if I were doing a test that was going to include reactivity series, or flame tests, or enzymes, too right I would revise for it first!