Surely using mocks for GCSE grades is hugely unfair.

[1nterstar]

Our school did them before Christmas before the whole course was completed, others were doing them this week.

Many kids don’t revise as much for mocks as the real thing( if at all).

The content and marking varies hugely.

Just how can they be used?

[Louise91417]

Most kids find mocks a real kick up the arse..they dont no what to expect, nerves are through the roof, so hard work does tend to go into the actual final exam..is this hard work going to be reflected..my dd done ok in mocks but they reflected her areas of weakness and what she needed to focus on, which she did, she has worked extremely hard toward her may/june exam, im hoping this us going to be acknowledged...

[Hercwasonaroll]

That's where teacher judgement comes in. If the mocks were before Christmas and a pupil has worked hard ever since, the teacher will give them a better grade.

sounds like your kids done SFA and now expects decent grades

[noblegiraffe]

I think the government will go for teacher assessment with evidence. The evidence will be mocks, any coursework (where relevant), ks2 scores and students classwork and homework.

That bird has flown. They cannot possibly ask for evidence of classwork and homework because we don’t keep it. The books disappeared with Y11.

They will want predicted grades. They will compare those predicted grades to KS2 results and to the school’s results/progress 8 for the previous year and either rubber stamp or not. If they decide to ask for evidence, they can only really hope for a spreadsheet with mock results on.

Obviously if there’s coursework, that will be vital, but we all know who got rid of most coursework.

[1nterstar]

Unescorted you don’t know the gaps pre Christmas in mocks. After that you have several months to work on specific gaps.

[Bathroom12345]

1inter - do you have a child with poor mock grades? There are some excellent answers to your query some clearly from teachers with considerable experience. Why do you keep trying to push a poor argument. Of course there is the odd pupil who turns it around but are you trying to argue on behalf of your child. I don’t get where you are going with this argument. If kids get zero support from family then sadly these kids won’t do well during mocks and beyond.

[Unescorted]

I have friends whose dc were apparently sitting them this week.

Some also sat after Christmas and some before

I suspect they were the same school - so all the kids sitting them this week will be taking them alongside their peers and will be graded against their peers taking them this week, with the same questions. Those children sitting them earlier will also be graded against their peers. Therefore there is no individual is disadvantaged. The difference in timing or questions argument would only hold water is in the unlikely case of a school splitting it's year group cohort to take the exams at different times or to take different paper but treating the cohort as a single group for grading purposes.

[CheriLittlebottom]

You think kids doing mocks this week will have been focused and at their best?! Really??

[Hercwasonaroll]

Noble I meant more the teacher judgement will include classwork and homework. I'm expecting the government will want Btec coursework and any NEAs that have been done.

A spreadsheet of mock grades is all we could offer.

[WTFdidwedo]

My nephew is predicted a D in Maths and has since had a (very expensive) tutor for three months. I'm devastated for him.

[1nterstar]

No they were different schools. Mock times varied hugely.

[noblegiraffe]

No, WTF your nephew was predicted D. That is not necessarily what his teacher will have predicted this week.

If he has improved, that will be taken into account.

[Hercwasonaroll]

My nephew is predicted a D in Maths and has since had a (very expensive) tutor for three months.

You can't get a D in Maths anymore

[noblegiraffe]

You can in Wales, Herc. I had a kid from Wales join sixth form with some really weird looking maths results!

[GreaseRizzo]

I completely agree with it. It will reward students who work hard all year and not just towards the end like many children of the people posting. Great idea imo

[Bathroom12345]

Your nephew will have improved so the grades submitted for him will reflect that ( hope he has improved!). Of course his teachers will have seen that change.

[Unescorted]

No they were different schools. Mock times varied hugely. but did the kids in each school sit the same mock at the same time as their classmates. If so the timeing and exam questions used will be accounted for when they set grade boundaries based on Cherilittlebottoms methodology, or as they do with the final exams.

[Hercwasonaroll]

I did not know that noble, wow. It feels very alien to see letter grades!

[1nterstar]

Well that’s lovely and great if that was the system sold to children but it wasn’t. They were told their GCSE result would depend on an exam in May/ June not a mock exam sat at different times of the year with different papers and inconsistent marking.

[FlyingPandas]

@1nterstar what exactly would you like the department of education and exam boards to do?

There is no perfect solution to this. There just isn’t.

[EmpressMaudie]

Using mocks presents a problem for the many home educated children who also were due to take their GCSEs this summer. I wonder what the solution will be there.

[1nterstar]

No unescorted. We all have kids in different schools. The times when sat varied hugely, ditto what was covered, papers and obviously grading. Kids sitting mocks now and last month or so having covered the whole syllabus have a huge advantage.

[Bathroom12345]

Op - what do you want to have happen? Not just for a specific scenario.

[lilgreen]

I’d be over the moon. DD did mocks in a December AND March and got great results.

[Oakmaiden]

It will reward students who work hard all year and not just towards the end like many children of the people posting.

Which would be fine if it wasn't moving the goalposts.

We are in Wales so my daughter has had a lot of coursework and controlled assessments to do, as well as taking several papers early. This has meant she has focused on the things she needs to to soon rather than all things evenly. So on the one hand, she has already sone well over 50% of the content of about 8 of her exams - but on the other has pretty much nothing to show for the other 3 subjects as she just didn't consider them a focus until now. In fact she only started the syllabus for one of the subjects (additional maths) in the last half term and has had no work marked at all. So I have no idea how they will even guess that one.

[Oakmaiden]

^ to add - even if it is moving the goal posts, I don't think they have any choice. Something had to be done, and whatever they decide SOMEONE will be disadvantaged.