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Secondary education

DD disappointed with Y9 exam results.

29 replies

ExitPursuedByABear · 08/06/2014 18:38

DD's school is quite hot on exams, presumably to get them used to the rigours of GCSEs. Dd seemed to do loads of revision but her results have started coming in and she is bitterly disappointed. She managed 65% and 67% on two maths papers, which I thought was fine as maths has never been her strongest subject and only 55% in Physics which was less than the class average.

I am stuck in hospital so I am not on hand to manage her disappointment. I would hate for her to get disillusioned and give up trying. There seems to be an obsession with getting A grades but not everyone can be an A student. She has two very clever and pushy best friends which no doubt makes her feel worse.

My poor lamb.

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summerends · 08/06/2014 20:03

Must be awful for you not to be able to be with her and give her a hug. It is better and a positive step for her to find out weaknesses in exam preparation and technique at such an early stage as she can adapt how she works next year.
You must be very proud of her work ethic, it is much more of a longterm strength for the future than being one of the cleverest at school.

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SueDNim · 08/06/2014 20:09

She may not have found the revision techniques that suit her best or may not have grasped the content when she was first taught it (and could have followed it up then). I agree that not everyone is cut out to get A grades, but do look realistically at how she learnt during the year and how she revised, in case she can improve these.

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lljkk · 08/06/2014 20:21

All she can do is study harder & accept the outcome whatever that may be. She can only try her best. Were math & physics her only disappointing results?

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ExitPursuedByABear · 08/06/2014 20:23

Thanks both. Hopefully the rest of her results will be more encouraging. School tend to put a lot of work in for Y9 & 10 I have heard. Identifying her weak areas now can only be a good thing. She was so fed up.

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ExitPursuedByABear · 08/06/2014 20:24

They are the only results she has had so far.

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Trillions · 08/06/2014 20:56

Unless your DD has learning disabilities she can be an A student and 55% is not good enough. It's great that she is so motivated! Can she talk to her teachers to ensure she's studying and revising effectively?

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Lottiedoubtie · 08/06/2014 21:00

Unless your DD has learning disabilities she can be an A student and 55% is not good enough

Don't be so ridiculous.

Not everyone has the same abilities.

OP yes, obviously your DD needs to look at work ethic/revision/exam technique to see if these can be improved.

But mostly right now she needs a hug and an acknowledgement that doing your best is good enough.

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Revised · 08/06/2014 21:03

Can you explain that to me Trillions?

I don't know how many people have SN but lets say it's 20%. 80% of people can be A students? How does that work?

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ExitPursuedByABear · 08/06/2014 21:27

That is the attitude that worries me. You either have learning difficulties or you can get an A. Confused There is no way I could get an A in sciences and I don't think I have learning difficulties.

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ExitPursuedByABear · 08/06/2014 21:28

She definitely needs to look at her technique.

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JugglingChaotically · 08/06/2014 21:51

Exams at this stage are their to highlight what you didn't quite "get". A learning tool.
I tell my DCs that it doesn't matter at this stage other that to flag areas of focus and monitor progress.
Praise efforts (rather than results on their own) and work on exam technique.
Years to go to find her niche.

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TeenAndTween · 08/06/2014 22:01

Unless your DD has learning disabilities she can be an A student and 55% is not good enough

Rubbish. (Unless your definition of learning disabilities is not being able to get an A even with hard work).

When she gets the papers back, get her to see whether it was her knowledge, or applying of knowledge, or silly mistakes that let her down. That will help her understand what to focus on another time.

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ExitPursuedByABear · 08/06/2014 22:03

Thanks Jug. I am hopefully. Going home tomorrow so can do some mothering.

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JugglingChaotically · 09/06/2014 06:40

Hope you do get home today. It's grotty being away when needed.
Good luck with it all.

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Trillions · 14/06/2014 20:18

Revised in most exams there are no quotas for grades! If everyone gets all the questions right, everyone gets an A.

Exit I am sorry that you've come to think of yourself as someone who could never get an A in something as easy as a science GCSE. It's clear from your posts here that you are intelligent, capable of rational thought etc. so I think you are incorrect in that assessment of yourself. People do badly in exams because they lack confidence, haven't had the advantage of a good education, and/or just give up too easily. None of these factors actually have any relation to ability, which is in any case less important than hard work.

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ExitPursuedByABear · 14/06/2014 20:26

Capable of rational thought Grin. Not so sure these days.

I was going to pm you actually and ask if you would mind me throwing open your remark about 'anyone who isn't SN can get an A grade' to the wider MN audience. Just out of interest. Not with any ulterior motive. Just that I have been thinking about it a lot.

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ReallyTired · 14/06/2014 20:34

Unless your DD has learning disabilities she can be an A student and 55% is not good enough

What utter tripe! Have you actually met someone with learning difficulties. I met year 9 children who are unable to write name because they have brain damage. There are children who manage to pass GCSEs with A* grades in primary. Academic ablity is a continium and most people are in the middle of the IQ range.

However its important to get exam success (or failure!) in proportion. Perhaps ExitPursuedByABear dd is not cut out be an astrophysicist, but there are plenty of other options that can allow to lead a happy and sucessful adult life. Perhaps this young lady has other qualities that more than compenstate for finding physics difficult. A string of A grades is sometimes less useful than good social skills.

Life is easier if ExitPursuedByABear dd gets 5 GCSEs including Maths and English at grade C or above. Even if she doesn't manage this then I am sure that there other routes.

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ExitPursuedByABear · 14/06/2014 20:39

Actually, she came top in English and second in History and got A grades in everything except Maths and Physics.

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EvilTwins · 14/06/2014 21:08

Trillions Are you aware that in things like GCSEs and A Levels, the grade boundaries change year on year and are not set until after the marks are in? Of course not everyone gets an A. Don't be silly. In subjects where lots of students get high marks, the grade boundaries are very high. In my subject, last year, students had to get 58/60 for an A*, 57/60 for an A (56 was a B)

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ExitPursuedByABear · 14/06/2014 21:09

Her 55% in physics turned out to be an A because of the grade boundaries

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ExitPursuedByABear · 14/06/2014 21:09

Imagine !

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ReallyTired · 14/06/2014 21:41

ExitPursuedByABear

lol.. It sounds like you have a very bright daughter whose school is a bit of a hot house. I am sure she will do well in life. Even so, my message about having a sense of proportion about exams is still true.

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ExitPursuedByABear · 14/06/2014 22:01

I know. I have never had to produce my o level certificates, ever. But when you are in the throes it is hard to keep a sense of perspective.

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BigBirdFlies · 14/06/2014 22:11

My dd was upset with her grades because she got grade C in her sciences and RE. Her other subjects were given as NC levels. However, her Y9 exams were formed using actual past GCSE questions, so I think a C is quite good. It probably won't get her into triple science, but she isn't going to take science A'Levels.

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ExitPursuedByABear · 14/06/2014 22:41

DD's school use GCSE questions apparently, but I can't see how if they have not covered the syllabus.

DH has decided that as she got 85% in English she has already as much as passed her GCSE.

As if.

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