Year 9 Dd not very good end of year test results

[solarlights]

Dd has has results for her end of year tests and she’s not done very well. She works hard at school and had a good parents evening but I’m worried now about the impact this will have as obviously she’s starting GCSEs next year. She seems to think quite a few of them got low marks. I’m not sure how to help her. She did some revision but obviously not enough. What could I do to help her?

Did she not do very well in all subjects or just some?
What about the ones she is taking for GCSE?
Did she get the actual marks or were they converted into grades?

DO you know what her predictions/target grades are and is she meeting those?

Maybe these results will help her to see where the gaps in her knowledge are and realise how much harder she needs to work in order to improve her grades. I wouldn't panic just yet.

Thanks for the replies.

@Seeline she did badly in sciences especially biology and chemistry.

OK - will she be doing combined science or individual sciences for GCSE?

I think it is important to work out whether she didn't do enough revision to know the subject matter, or whether she doesn't actually understand the stuff she has been taught.

BBC bitesize is good at helping with the basics.
I also recommend the CGP revision books. If you know which exam boards her school uses you could try getting the GCSE books for her course. They also do generic key stage 3 books which might be helpful in making sure she really understands what she has already covered www.cgpbooks.co.uk/secondary-books/ks3/science Perhaps you could help her do a couple of sessions each week over the summer holidays so that she is ready to start GCSE stuff in September.

@Seeline she is taking separate sciences. Thanks so much for the advice it’s a really good idea to get the course books as I’m not sure how to approach it. I’ll have a look on Amazon.

think it is important to work out whether she didn't do enough revision to know the subject matter, or whether she doesn't actually understand the stuff she has been taught.

or Whether she understood what the questions were asking & gave the answers required by the mark scheme.

Schools often sell the guides at reduced prices, or you can pick them up from local charity shops if they sell books. Best time is July-Sept (ie now). Ask the school whether/when they sell them before paying full price yourself.

@TeenMinusTests I think a lot of it is writing the answers too vague for the mark scheme. I shall definitely try to get some books second hand that’s a great tip thanks.
I think it’s given her a bit of a shock so hopefully she’ll realise that she’s going to have to revise more effectively in future.

If it's exam technique, the best thing will be a tutor.

If it is exam technique then they will get a lot of practice in y10 & y11. GCSE papers & mark schemes are available online.
She should look at her returned papers and try to understand where/why she lost marks. Before the next test review the exams and 'remind' how marks were lost. This will help with next revision & test.
No need to turn to a tutor yet without trying 'self-improvement' first.

There’s still plenty of time to get her grades up - my DD went from 5s in year 9 to 9s in year 11.
Free Science Lessons is a fantastic video resource, as is Primrose Kitten.
Seneca is good for interactive learning, and the CGP revision books and flash cards are really useful.

The sciences really are all about knowing the mark schemes - once you understand how to get the marks, eg watch words, like biological catalyst, active site, denature etc for enzymes, it’s pretty straightforward. You need to include the “why”, not just the “what” too.

How much revision did you DD do for these exams? My DS is in Yr9 and he worked really hard over the Easter holidays and Quite a bit at half term. he did reasonably well especially in the exams he revised hard on.

My DD in Yr 10 worked all Easter, all
half term and solidly for the 3 week up to and during her exams and she got all 9's and 8's.

These kids need to really knuckle down .

As a teacher, I’d really not get too worried about year 9 test results. There’s lots of time for her to work on revision strategies and exam technique.
For GCSEs next year encourage her to revise little and often from the start of year 10. In my experience that is often what grade 9s are built on. Kids who really drill content and factual recall in year 10 can spend year 11 really refining their exam technique and style in extended writing, where others are re-learning all the things that they’ve forgotten from year 10. Flash cards, quizlet, Seneca learning and any other form of self testing, on a regular basis, should really help her to retain information.

I would tend to agree with @whattodo2019. It doesn’t really matter how hard she works in class if she’s not revising hard at home and putting in the hours.

For year 10, I’d establish a clear and non-negotiable study routine of homework and revision with your DD.

She should be doing a minimum of 2 hours’ work each night and then 4-6 hours over the weekend. She should be handing her phone over to you until this time has been completed.

She should be doing a minimum of 2 hours’ work each night and then 4-6 hours over the weekend. She should be handing her phone over to you until this time has been completed.

I would say that seems a massive expectation to set from start y10 and with some/many children will be unsustainable and lead to arguments, resentment, or burnout. It very much depends on the amount of homework set by the school, and the child themselves.

I think it might be better to give goals, e.g. For end of unit tests, good quality revision cards / mind maps are made and learned (including if needed testing by a parent to help the process along). After tests review the papers to understand where marks were lost and why.

@TeenMinusTests

I don’t think it’s an unreasonable expectation at all. 2 hours’ study per evening in year 10 is the minimum requirement set by the DCs’ school and parents have to certify that this has been completed (3 hours is the expectation in year 11).

Many DC at the school do significantly more work- either by individual or parental choice.

Green What kind of school as a matter of interest?

Both my DDs have mild SEN and there is no way either of them could have managed anything like you have suggested week in week out for 2 years, and their 'good comp' certainly never suggested anything like that as a standard ask either.

DD’s old school said year 10 should be working 3 hours a night on week days and 6 hours a day at weekends.

Crazy.
GCSEs are a marathon, not a sprint, and how long you spend on something isn’t necessarily indicative of how well you’ve learnt it; an unfocused, unmotivated teenager could spend 2 hours staring at a text book, to no great benefit.

Targeted revision is much more useful than going by the clock.

One of the big things yr 9 kids have lost over the last year is sitting tests in school so being able to learn and refine their revision techniques. What works for one does not work for another. Mind maps, flash cards etc are all useful but they need to know how to use them. I do not enforce 2 hours revision a night, I think that is too much but she does need to learn where she is going wrong and it may be with lock down learning she has not understood the building blocks in science that she needs to understand the harder work. Definitely try and get her to see what she finds hard, the teachers should be highlighting to her where she needs to focus on.

Wow I used to teach at a very high achieving school and didnt expect 2hrs a night/4 hours a weekend at gcse. That way leads to burnout.

It’s a grammar @TeenMinusTests. DC are used to working hard and a high level of effort is expected at all times.

Many parents expect even more study than the minimum 2 hour expectation.

Wow thankfully not at the grammar school near me!

I wouldn't send a child there tbh. Its a reason we didn't choose the local "strict bootcamp style" academy as they had 1.5 hours a night that was nearly all self quizzing! Way to kill a subject.

@GiantToadstool

The school has to turn away hundreds of applicants every year and parents are queuing up to get their DC in from a very young age.

Many including myself are delighted with the high expectations and strong work ethic that is instilled in the D.C.

Hi OP,

I took my GCSEs 15 years ago and did badly in science even though I was taking separate science. I was predicted a D in Chemistry after year 10. I ended up cramming everything off the CGP guides and got As and A*s. I wouldn't worry too much - buy her the CGP guides and go from there

I guess its good there's all sorts of schools and if students are enjoying it, have time for extracurricular activities and aren't just rite learning that's great.

As a teacher its not a school I'd choose (and one of mine goes to superselective grammar! ) Both the grammar and the bootcamp academy are oversubscribed here. Teacher friends tend to avoid the hours-per-night homework schools but of course its not the only thing to be considered in the mix. I wouldn't ever think its a good thing though.