6th form exam resit fees advice needed please...

daisiegg

shellsuit wrote: »

This particular subject is Media.

They hadn't completed all the work needed for the exam by January, and my son had only been doing Media for 10 weeks before he had the exam, I'm not sure how many hours that would be, that's something I'd have to look into.

Do you know which exam board it is and which module?

With media I think it can be sometimes debatable whether they have been 'taught' everything for the exam (depending on which module it is) because some of the media exams are very skills based, as in they will be given an unseen media text that they have not previously been taught and have to analyse it. So whether they have had enough time learning/practising those skills is a kind if 'how long is a piece of string' question... It's not quite like other subjects like, say, biology, or English, where it would be quite simple to say 'well we weren't taught about respiration therefore had not finished covering the material for the exam' or 'we didn't finish reading Hamlet therefore were not ready for the exam'. However these statements all rather depend which media module it actually was!

Did your son and his classmates not say they were concerned if they felt they were being entered for an exam when they hadn't been taught everything they needed for it?

If that is what happened then it is really bad on the teacher's part! Not least because results directly reflect on the teacher... And your son does not HAVE to retake the exam in June. He could turn around and say 'actually I am not going to continue media in Y13 so I don't mind what grade I get' and then come out with a bad grade - which would completely mess up the teacher's statistics. So if the teacher really did enter them for an exam they weren't ready for that was a very risky move!

shellsuit

mrcow wrote: »

It sounds that way to me too.

Although Shell seems to think otherwise? Are you 100% that it wasn't just that one module that had been completed and therefore sat? If so, then the entire set up sounds absolutely crazy and I would 100% take it further up the chain.

See, this is what's confusing, it looks like it was one module that was sat, before it was even completed and that's why the director is saying one thing and the actual teacher is saying another.

We've asked son a few times if all the stuff in the exam they had studied beforehand and he said No. He knows that as long as he's done his best, that's all that matters so he has no reason to lie.

mrcow

peachyprice wrote: »

So really by the January exam they should have covered half the course.

Yes we have - but AS is not just about getting though the content.

It's about understanding how to answer the questions which comes with practice and experience. By June, the amount of work covered is more, but also, pupils have had much more exposure to that level of work and more exposure to examination technique and expectations.

Also, waiting until June gives an opportunity to iron out issues with understanding that may have occurred back in Nov/Dec. Sitting exams in Jan straight after the Christmas holidays gives you practically no prep time at all.

peachyprice

Do you know which exam board it is Shelldean?

If you do you should be able to find the course content and structure online.

daisiegg

mrcow wrote: »

I would never put any 16-17 year old in for an A level exam after only 10 weeks experience. They are far too inexperienced at that point. You should have been given an informed option of whether to take the Jan or June exam.

This is interesting...I teach English and our AS students only sit the exams in summer but it seems lots of other subjects in my school routinely enter Y12s for January modules, particularly in science and other more factual subjects. I think the idea is they do the exam when the material is still fresh in their minds and then move on to the next lot of material and can effectively forget what they learnt for the previous module, unless they have to retake it! Or that is my perception, anyway....I may be doing these subjects and teachers a great disservice in which case I of course apologise!

shellsuit

mrcow wrote: »

I would never put any 16-17 year old in for an A level exam after only 10 weeks experience. They are far too inexperienced at that point. You should have been given an informed option of whether to take the Jan or June exam.

He wasn't asked and neither were we. Another teacher told the class generally that he advised they all resit another subject, then put them all in for it, when they hadn't said whether they wanted to or not. That subject is the one where son is happy with his grade but teacher is naffed off that he doesn't want to resit and get an even better grade.

daisiegg wrote: »

Do you know which exam board it is and which module?

With media I think it can be sometimes debatable whether they have been 'taught' everything for the exam (depending on which module it is) because some of the media exams are very skills based, as in they will be given an unseen media text that they have not previously been taught and have to analyse it. So whether they have had enough time learning/practising those skills is a kind if 'how long is a piece of string' question... It's not quite like other subjects like, say, biology, or English, where it would be quite simple to say 'well we weren't taught about respiration therefore had not finished covering the material for the exam' or 'we didn't finish reading Hamlet therefore were not ready for the exam'. However these statements all rather depend which media module it actually was!

Did your son and his classmates not say they were concerned if they felt they were being entered for an exam when they hadn't been taught everything they needed for it?

If that is what happened then it is really bad on the teacher's part! Not least because results directly reflect on the teacher... And your son does not HAVE to retake the exam in June. He could turn around and say 'actually I am not going to continue media in Y13 so I don't mind what grade I get' and then come out with a bad grade - which would completely mess up the teacher's statistics. So if the teacher really did enter them for an exam they weren't ready for that was a very risky move!

I don't know off the top of my head what exam and board, I can find out though once hubby gets home.

I know son said only one person in his class passed, so they weren't upto speed at all. They didn't know the content of the exam, so didn't know if they had the full knowledge to pass or not.

I wonder if that's why another teacher is annoyed with him for not wanting to resit his subject, because he grade isn't too good?

daisiegg

shellsuit wrote: »

I wonder if that's why another teacher is annoyed with him for not wanting to resit his subject, because he grade isn't too good?

That will be why!

Don't know how it works at your son's school but at my school our performance management is all based on every student we teach reaching their 'target grade'. The target grade is calculated based on all sorts of data ranging back to when they were 4 years old and is often very unrealistic.

So, you might have a student who gets a B, say, in a subject, and is really happy with that, but their 'target grade' was an A so unless the teacher can persuade them to resit and try and get an A the teacher could fail their performance management that year. It can be quite a difficult situation!

Bennifred

With regard to cost of exam etc - it is generally better to speak to the Exams Officer than the teacher

We (exams office) are constantly hitting our foreheads at the information given out about exams by subject teachers (and even department heads!)

shellsuit

daisiegg wrote: »

That will be why!

Don't know how it works at your son's school but at my school our performance management is all based on every student we teach reaching their 'target grade'. The target grade is calculated based on all sorts of data ranging back to when they were 4 years old and is often very unrealistic.

So, you might have a student who gets a B, say, in a subject, and is really happy with that, but their 'target grade' was an A so unless the teacher can persuade them to resit and try and get an A the teacher could fail their performance management that year. It can be quite a difficult situation!

It's all making sense now.

He hit his target, but it was only a D I think. That was for IT and he said there are other parts for that subject which could bump that D up anyway, so he's not too bothered about resitting the exam part.

It's funny, I've come here and you lot have explained everything to me, everything which the Director of the 6th form couldn't!

I'm of the day when you worked all year and did one exam at the end, with a mock in between, so all this module and coursework (oh thats not good, rewrite it and get a better mark x 6 throughout the year) malarky is all new to me

shellsuit

Bennifred wrote: »

With regard to cost of exam etc - it is generally better to speak to the Exams Officer than the teacher

We (exams office) are constantly hitting our foreheads at the information given out about exams by subject teachers (and even department heads!)

The letter we got with the invoice was from the exams officer, and said that if we had any queries to get in touch with X, Y or Z members of staff.

X and Y couldn't help us, and Z is the Director. Oh and it took over a week for the Director to get back to us, after leaving her 4 messages after we were promised 'she will get back to you today'.

I didn't realise we could get in touch with the exam officer ourselves.