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Secondary education

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Original poster

English Literature - Working at Grade 1 in year 10 - is this ok?

89 replies

Lougle · 17/12/2021 13:22

DD2 had her year 10 mocks in November. Her report came out last week. She's working at level 1 for English Literature (level 3 for English Language).

Nobody has told me (and the teacher is off sick so no email reply) whether this is ok because she'll improve over time and pass, or if it's worrying.

At this stage, all I care about is her getting a 4, so I suppose my question is whether a typical student would improve 3 grades by GCSE exam time from now?

OP posts:
MistakenHoliday · 18/12/2021 06:17

Could you ask school to print out her lesson PPTs for her to have in class and take home? I do this for a number of students with ASD and it really helps with processing and organisation.

Imitatingdory · 18/12/2021 12:03

Has DD2 ever had an Ed Pysch assessment?

MrsHamlet · 18/12/2021 12:07

Without seeing what she wrote I would say the issues are a combination of some or all of these:

  • she didn't write much
  • she didn't use quotations to back up her points
  • she didn't answer the question set
  • she didn't write about the methods the writer used
  • she didn't make links to the context.
I teach and examine AQA.
MrsHamlet · 18/12/2021 12:08

@MistakenHoliday

Could you ask school to print out her lesson PPTs for her to have in class and take home? I do this for a number of students with ASD and it really helps with processing and organisation.
Only if they use them. I don't.
Original poster
Lougle · 18/12/2021 15:53

@MistakenHoliday

Could you ask school to print out her lesson PPTs for her to have in class and take home? I do this for a number of students with ASD and it really helps with processing and organisation.
They put everything on Classroom so we have that. I think they discuss in class and the teacher writes up the analysis. The trouble is that DD2 doesn't understand how the text leads to that analysis. She writes it down but sometimes copies wrongly (e.g. she wrote 'cytrical' but it should have been cyclical - it didn't occur to DD2 that 'cytrical' isn't a word).
OP posts:
Original poster
Lougle · 18/12/2021 16:04

@Imitatingdory

Has DD2 ever had an Ed Pysch assessment?
No. It took me 3 schools and home ed to get to the point that someone recognised that she had a problem. First school, she fell apart between year R and year 1 because the classrooms looked different/different curriculum. School couldn't see why she was getting physically ill due to it.

Second school, she did ok between year 1 (when she joined) and year 2, but fell apart in year 2. SALT assessment said 'she has the following traits (list of ASD symptoms) but she's doing ok so no help needed. She fell apart completely so I withdrew her to HE while I came up with a plan.

HE between April in year 2 and September. I used Montessori style materials to improve her maths and Language for Thinking (a comprehension/inference) to improve her inference.

School 3 I found in late September (year 3). She did well for the first 2 years, with support. But they do 2 years per class and she fell apart again in year 5. At that point the HT said 'we have a problem'.

Diagnosed ASD in Year 7. She has general measures such as sitting near the teacher so they can keep an eye on her (she's too shy to ask for help if she's struggling). But nothing extra. I've managed to get her some exam concessions and after I complained last week I've got a meeting in January with the year 10 SLT link.

OP posts:
Original poster
Lougle · 18/12/2021 16:07

@MrsHamlet

Without seeing what she wrote I would say the issues are a combination of some or all of these:
  • she didn't write much
  • she didn't use quotations to back up her points
  • she didn't answer the question set
  • she didn't write about the methods the writer used
  • she didn't make links to the context.
I teach and examine AQA.
Quite possibly. I don't think she's had any feedback. One example I do know from food tech, which shows how she thinks, though. She was asked to 'describe the features of a fridge.' She described our fridge at home. They were looking for the key features of fridges in general, e.g. ventilation, etc. Fortunately she got a 5 despite that.
OP posts:
MrsHamlet · 18/12/2021 19:45

Do you have the work? I'll happily cast an eye over it if you can take a photo.

Original poster
Lougle · 18/12/2021 19:59

@MrsHamlet I'll PM you, thank you.

OP posts:
Imitatingdory · 19/12/2021 20:06

An EP assessment may help, especially if, as is often the case, it highlights hidden needs/areas of weakness.

Original poster
Lougle · 19/12/2021 20:32

I agree @Imitatingdory but we can't afford an EP assessment and I'm pretty sure school wouldn't commission one because they'd have to pay.

OP posts:
Original poster
Lougle · 19/12/2021 20:33

I think school have pegged her at average/low average ability, so aren't looking for explanations when she performs badly.

OP posts:
Imitatingdory · 19/12/2021 20:48

You may as well ask the school and point out as things stand DD is going to pull down their progress 8 score because of the 110 in Y6 SATS. If they won’t commission an assessment Parents in Need can sometimes help fund assessments.

Fruitloopcowabunga · 19/12/2021 20:59

This is heartbreaking, DS has ASD and is just the same - he has a good vocabulary, reads for pleasure (fiction and non-fiction) but he just can't get his head round the exam questions. We've got him some 1:1 tuition where the tutor is coaching him through exam questions but I really don't know if it's going to do the trick (he's Year 11 so not much time). It's so frustrating because he CAN write perfectly well when he's answering questions in history for instance but the English papers are a nightmare. Another thing that may help is extra time on these papers - your daughter's school should be offering an assessment to see whether she qualifies for this.

Original poster
Lougle · 19/12/2021 21:05

Thanks @Imitatingdory, I'll ask them.

@Fruitloopcowabunga DD2 doesn't qualify for extra time but did qualify for rest breaks.

OP posts:
Imitatingdory · 19/12/2021 21:55

Are you sure DD doesn’t qualify for extra time? As she has ASD a Form 8 is not needed and should not be used. Here are the guidelines - 5.2.3 is the important part.

Separate invigilation and a laptop may help too.

Original poster
Lougle · 20/12/2021 20:03

The exams officer did some sort of test where she asked DD2 to write as fast as she could, and she said she wrote too fast with legible handwriting to get extra time.

She's been given the use of a laptop, rest breaks and a small room.

They've said the rest breaks are better in a sense because DD2 can just turn her paper over, calm herself or have a think, then turn her paper back and continue, and she can do that as many times as she wants, whereas extra time is a fixed 25%.

OP posts:
Imitatingdory · 20/12/2021 21:40

Lougle because DD has ASD a speed of writing test is not required for extra time, so if that would be more useful it is worth pursuing further.

Original poster
Lougle · 20/12/2021 23:32

Thanks @Imitatingdory. I have a meeting with school at the beginning of January so I'll bring it all up then.

I really appreciate everyone's advice. I just feel so sorry for her that she can't show how amazing she is.

OP posts:
littlebilliie · 21/12/2021 08:03

I would get some of the study guides and start doing this verbally. I think watching YouTube and discussing the books and sample questions will really help.

The writing down is the last stage. Perhaps get a "poem a day" book read and discuss. Having an opinion on the interpretation of literature is the key.

Original poster
Lougle · 21/12/2021 08:34

Thanks @littlebilliie. I think the biggest challenge is that I have to get past 'My opinion is that it's boring and irrelevant, so I don't even know why I have to read it.'

I suspect that's the teenager talking though.

OP posts:
MerryMarigold · 21/12/2021 08:37

She's only at the beginning of year 10! Why is she having 'mocks'. My DS is Y11 and has mocks in Jan. I wouldn't be keen on a school which did this, to be honest. I have no idea how much improvement can happen but with 1.5 years to go, I would hope she could pass.

MrsHamlet · 21/12/2021 09:02

@MerryMarigold

She's only at the beginning of year 10! Why is she having 'mocks'. My DS is Y11 and has mocks in Jan. I wouldn't be keen on a school which did this, to be honest. I have no idea how much improvement can happen but with 1.5 years to go, I would hope she could pass.
Because all assessments really should be done in exam conditions so students are properly prepared. My year 10 have done two formal assessments - we just don't call them "mocks"
MerryMarigold · 21/12/2021 09:10

Well exactly, that have a lot of assessments but they can't all be in the gym or spaced out in exam conditions. Sitting and working silently in class on an assessment is precisely that. Referring to it as a mock and then grading them as if it were a GCSE puts the fear into parents and stresses kids out. There's a few kids this technique may work on but many, including my DS who already has anxiety, would just get stressed for a whole 2 years! Probably perform worse in the end.

Tulipvase · 21/12/2021 09:13

@MerryMarigold

She's only at the beginning of year 10! Why is she having 'mocks'. My DS is Y11 and has mocks in Jan. I wouldn't be keen on a school which did this, to be honest. I have no idea how much improvement can happen but with 1.5 years to go, I would hope she could pass.
I assume it isn’t the case here but my daughter did her Eng Lit GCSE in year 10. A lot of the schools here do it early.