When students sit their exams this summer, it will be the first time many have sat external examinations. Given the disruption to their education in the past two years, it’s vital that schools maximise the time between mocks and formal exams.
Although it’s increasingly likely that we won’t be using mocks as a form of judgement in teacher-assessed grades this summer, that doesn’t mean that they aren’t still important. Making inferences from mocks is absolutely key to maximising gains for pupils, as is taking notice of the pre-release information from exam boards.
So, here are six things I’ll be doing this year to build on mock exams and prepare students for the real thing.
Maximise the pre-release information
There have been nuggets of information released by exam boards to assist in final preparations for the summer. Teachers should be paying close attention to this if it applies to their subjects.
For example, for GCSE English language, the pre-release from the AQA board stated that the paper 2 writing section would be an article. In normal years, this would have been picked from a selection of text types such as a letter, speech or leaflet. While it seems like a small piece of information, it does mean that all preparation and practice for that section of the exam (worth 25 per cent of the final grade) can now be focussed specifically on the “known element”: article writing.
In history, meanwhile, schools have the option to drop a unit, which allows teachers to focus their teaching on the relevant topics.
Information like this needs to be shared far and wide. In our school, we prepared a handout to be sent home explaining all the changes to each subject in one document. This way, there is clarity for all and time isn’t wasted teaching or revising something that won’t be on the final exam.
Make meaningful inferences from mock data
Data is an important tool for investigation, and mock data should be examined at a whole-school, department and individual class level.
There is inevitably a panic when Johnny in 11b who was predicted 6s in all his subjects gets 2s across the board. However, marrying up the raw scores of the mock exams with the evidence in the exercise book, the knowledge of the class teacher and the insight of the tutor or year leader gives a fuller picture.
In our school, we hold fortnightly meetings between the deputy head, the core subject leaders and the head of Year 11. Every child is discussed, and key information is shared. This becomes even more important post-mocks, as the needs of key groups of pupils emerge.
Use intervention wisely
When faced with a set of mocks that were not as good as expected, the urge can be to cram in as much extracurricular intervention as possible. This only results in tired staff and unmotivated, disengaged pupils.
It is far better to specifically target groups of pupils and tailor short, meaningful upgrade sessions to them. For example, if it’s clear that there was a particular misconception leading to low marks on a particular question, is this specific to one class? If so, does the teacher know how to close the gap? If it’s across classes, what “re-teach” opportunities are available?
A key strategy here is to help pupils understand what they did or didn’t do to attain specific marks. Creating a simplified mark scheme and providing highlighted or colour-coded models helps break down this barrier. This isn’t about attempting to predict where the grade boundaries will fall, but helping pupils to understand that small adaptations can maximise marks.
Don’t neglect your high attainers
Following mocks, the temptation is often to focus on those students who are on the borderline between grades. But don’t forget about those who are a “safe 5” or “sure to get a 7”: adding a drop-in session for pupils who are already attaining well sets them up for even greater success and allows them to develop their love of a subject.
On Wednesdays, I run a 20-minute breakfast club before school: here, pupils drop in, grab a tasty breakfast snack and discuss points of interest within specific parts of the course.
Have a Covid contingency plan
Although isolation requirements have now been dropped, and we hope that the days of students missing out on big chunks of crucial learning are in the past, it is still worth having a plan in place for the eventuality of a new Covid variant.
Exam teaching teams should follow a cohesive plan so that classes are working on the same topic or paper.
In my department, we were hit hard with Covid absences - including my own - in the run-up to, and during, the mock period. However, because we had agreed to follow the same broad plan, we were able to collapse Year 11 classes between us, so that pupils were still being taught by a subject specialist.
We also set up a Google classroom for isolating pupils to access the work they would have been doing in lessons. Having a collegiate approach in this way means that pupils and staff are aware of what they are doing and there is no dead time due to reasons out of anyone’s hands.
Hold the line
Although it can feel as though time is slipping away, there is still the best part of half a term between when the mock period ends and the final exams begin. When departments and teachers are stressed and snappy, this affects pupils and conflict ensues. A calm and collaborative approach with a clear rationale is much more effective.
Beginning lessons with a similar retrieval activity allows pupils to feel that they know what is coming and ensures content already mastered is revisited in a time-efficient way. Quick-fire retrieval of core knowledge can create a sense of achievement and a positive mindset at the start of lessons, which then gives them a boost as you guide them through the trickier aspects in the rest of the lesson.
Laura May Rowlands is head of English in a secondary school in Hampshire
