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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

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Original poster

OK - so what do you say to poor test results?

11 replies

MEMsmum · 22/05/2007 22:37

What do you say to them when they come home and tell you they got 5/15 for a surprise test?

OP posts:

aig · 23/05/2007 06:30

How did your friends get on?

PenelopePitstops · 23/05/2007 06:51

did you try your best?

if so dont worry and try to do better next time, and as long as you have tried we wont be angry

if they havent we are dissapointed but no worries as long as it probably didnt count for much

Blandmum · 23/05/2007 07:03

I'd try to be more specific about what you can do about doing better next time. What was it about the test that was hard? What could be done to improve next time?

I'd never stress a child about a test result but the imortant thing is that the result helps to shape what happens next IYSWIM.

I would avoidsaying that test 'don#t matter'. While it is totaly true that the rest of his life isn't going to be shaped by this tesult it is important in that it shows he/she doesn't understand this bit of the course. If it isn't understood he/she needs to have a chat with the teacher.

Never make a big fuss about it, but also don't ignore it.

mamazon · 23/05/2007 07:12

Explain that tests are there so that the teacher can see how much each child understands of teh subject.
Now the teacher will be able to help you some more with this subject aso that next time we can try for 15/15.

mumblechum · 23/05/2007 08:07

I'd see if I could get hold of the paper & see where he went wrong, but it depends on the age of the child/importance of the test.

My ds is 12 & the other day he got a crap result in a maths test as he had to go & do a music lesson half way through. When he got the result he asked the teacher if he could have another crack at it & re did it in the lunch break and got an A*. I was really chuffed that he showed some initiative about it.

Sorry, I digress. If your child is still at primary and it's just something like a spelling test, find out where it went wrong, go through the spelling "rules" again then just forget it for now. No point stressing them out unnecessarily when they're little.

mumblechum · 23/05/2007 08:08

Oops, sorry, just realised you posted in secondary. Too early in the morning.

Pimmpom · 23/05/2007 10:01

mumblechum - your ds will go far. good on him for asking for another crack at it . My dd would not miss out on her lunch hour

mumblechum · 23/05/2007 10:12

well, his orders come out this week and he's been bribed with a new psp game if he does well!

Hallgerda · 23/05/2007 10:28

I imagine the teacher probably set the test to show the pupils that they don't know the subject quite as well as they should. I'd encourage him to look over his notes, and talk to him about the importance of revising for tests he does know about in advance. But I'd not be overly concerned or cross about it.

Original poster

MEMsmum · 24/05/2007 00:13

Thanks for your tips - helped greatly, esp as DD walked past while I was reading them and we went through some of the replies!

I wasn't cross with her or angry but I think I was a bit flumoxed because it's the 2nd test since Easter she's not done too well in, and on both occasions she's giggled after telling us, told us that no one else did really well either so that was OK then. It's not really the results I'm worried about - more her reaction (which I know is probably embarrassment) and general attitude to her work. I've noticed a tendency for her to do just the bare minimum she needs to get by - if she gives me some homework to read I'll tell her it's great and point out a spelling mistake - her response is that "Oh that's OK mum, it doesn't matter!". Why doesn't it matter? Or if she's told to write a 2 page essay and there are 6 suggested aspects to cover, she'll write exactly 2 pages but have only covered 4 of the suggested 6 aspects.

The first test was for history and she'd forgotten to revise - fair enough, she got 17/25 (not bad even with revision) though when she originally told us she thought it was out of 30 (not so good). This time it was for CDT (?craft, design & technology) and consisted of the teacher holding up tools for identification!! Now DD's not overly fond of the subject - and tbh, unless there's a sudden demand for wonky parrots on perches she's not great loss to the CDT world ! When we tried to explain that, really such a low mark in any subject is a bit disappointing things didn't really go too well. DD ended up saying how she realised we expected her to get top marks all the time but she wasn't perfect, and sometimes she just wanted to be normal. Then we went off on a long discussion about how clever is normal ....

it's no good, have just previewed (again!) - been sitting here since 11.15 trying to phrase things so I don't sound like a PITA overanxious, results obsessed parent and failing miserable. Better just to say thank you and goodnight! Sigh! Catch-a-grip woman!

OP posts:

mumblechum · 24/05/2007 10:36

Glad it's not just boys who have a "scrape through" attitude!

I don't really worry if my ds gets, say, a C in things like D.Tech, for reasons you pointed out.

He gets orders every 6 weeks and as long as he gets mostly Bs, the odd A and the odd C that's ok with me, provided that the Bs and As are for eng, maths, science, languages & humanities. Don't really give a stuff about PE, Drama, Art, Music as he's more of an academic and after all they've got to be crap at something or they wouldn't be human!

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