My daughter's a level teacher just threatened

[LNSL]

not to even enter her for her a level exam. Seems a little harsh no? She's in the lower sixth. Got an E on a recent test, which I thought was decent enough.

What do you think to this?

Oh fuck off.

Nice.

Tbh not many teenagers are studying at A level for pure love of the subject and don't need or want the grades for future work or education.

A levels are a lot of work and often very stressful for the student. If they are doing it purely for enjoyment there may be better ways to obtain knowledge of that subject. If they are doing it as a route to HE/ employment/ to put on a CV an E is not particularly helpful.

@LNSL

not to even enter her for her a level exam. Seems a little harsh no? She's in the lower sixth. Got an E on a recent test, which I thought was decent enough.

What do you think to this?

I think the teacher is the best person to make this decision, no one here can possibly give any kind of valid answer as you've given next to no information about the issue except that your view on what is a decent grade doesn't seem to fit with most other people's.

I would actually think a teacher would be keener to teach someone who genuinely enjoyed the subject, rather than someone who just wanted to do well in an exam.

Very naive. This is A levels, not a learn how to paint with watercolours class in your local community centre. Teachers are working to get exam results.

An E is not a decent grade. Wake up.

@RosesforMama. Yes, it is likely that the E will remain an E, if that’s an end of unit test. Once a unit is finished, it is finished. And if that’s her grade, that is very concerning. She is half way through the year. But I think the OP knows that. in reality, this is a very poor result. It bodes very badly for either exams, or school assessments

@WINKINGatyourage

I would actually think a teacher would be keener to teach someone who genuinely enjoyed the subject, rather than someone who just wanted to do well in an exam.

Very naive. This is A levels, not a learn how to paint with watercolours class in your local community centre. Teachers are working to get exam results.

This.

My son was told unequivocally that A levels were not the right choice for him. He and I agreed completely. He did a Btec instead and got into his first choice for University following that.

I'm not saying that at E at A level means you're consigned to the rubbish heap, only that it is objectively a very poor grade. A learner with these grades might be better suited to a different program of study. Teachers tend to know this.

The teacher is going to want to teach someone one who learns,@AllThatFancyPaintsAsFair. The E does not indicate any learning. Presumably there was an entrance requirement for this course?

There would be no point at all in her getting an E on an actual A Level. She could hardly put it on her CV! Or even a D

[quote Rowenasemolina]@RosesforMama. Yes, it is likely that the E will remain an E, if that’s an end of unit test. Once a unit is finished, it is finished. And if that’s her grade, that is very concerning. She is half way through the year. But I think the OP knows that. in reality, this is a very poor result. It bodes very badly for either exams, or school assessments[/quote]
What? A levels are based on exam results at the end of the course, not on course work units. It's not a btech.

Don't be so silly. An 'E' isn't "decent enough". After school, she'll be competing with top grades, for goodness' sake. As mentioned above, there are alternatives such as BTech, which might suit her better?

To people saying that the E will translate to a B or a C by the end, there's no reason why it should.

OP we could do with more info - but I imagine it would have been a test based on work done so far (not much point setting a past paper of A level standard after a term) so an E suggests a final grade of D/E max. Yes it's a pass, but it suggests to me that A levels are not for her.

And yes, if she got 4/5 at GCSE then again, maybe A levels are not for her. It's not too late to change and take a different tack if that's better for her. And it might be better than struggling on for 18 months more to achieve DEE or EEU or similar.

Generally E would not be a good grade. However to an extent it depends on the subject. If that is an entire topic and she lacks basic grasp of understanding or technique it could be an issue. In some subjects progress can be more accumulative as skills and understanding develop during the course ie. essay writing is likely to refine with more practice. Is she studying as much as she should, asking where she does not understand, learn from feedback and errors?

Really? You think people put results below a C on their CV?!

An E on a CV would be laughed straight into the bin.

@RosesforMamabut that E indicates what she will get in that part of the curriculum when she is examined at the end of the course

@WunWun

There would be no point at all in her getting an E on an actual A Level. She could hardly put it on her CV! Or even a D

My son has an E, and a C

It will go on his CV as "two A level passes"

What do you mean it can't go on a CV? Are you mad?
Not everyone wants to go to law school or into medicine.

You know I had a kid who was looking at AAB.
These days I am just glad he didn't manage to kill himself, and seeing him smiling or laughing is all I need to know things are ok. I couldn't be prouder of his E grade A level.

No one in their right mind puts a fucking E on a CV 😆

@WunWun

Really? You think people put results below a C on their CV?!

An E on a CV would be laughed straight into the bin.

Actually you have to, in many cases. If a job application asks for ALL exam results, you have to put them all. Otherwise it’s fraud

I think it really depends on the subject. If it's something like history where they learn the content, then do a test but are still learning the exam technique, which will vastly improve over time, then it's fine.
If it's an end of module test, then an E may be more cause for concern. However, it is NOT a shite grade or worthless.
Look at ways you could help her, she doesn't necessarily need to think whether a levels are "right for her" or consider a different course. My dd (also lower 6th) got a low D in her history test in Nov but got an A in her test a couple of weeks ago.

But of course on MN, if your dc aren't getting 5 A*s and going to Oxbridge, they're a failure.

@WunWun

Really? You think people put results below a C on their CV?!

An E on a CV would be laughed straight into the bin.

Depends on the job, really, doesn't it?

I expect the resilience my DS showed in completing his A level course in the face of dreadful mental health problems would mean a lot to many employers, of the sort that deserve my son working with them.

@Rowenasemolina

You're taking about application forms, not CVs.

@rosesformama with all due respect to your son, employers would not care less about that. If he went to an interview speaking about his mental health problems he would sadly be very unlikely to get the job.