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You views on mock exams

I completely understand that there need to be mocks to track your progress but do you find once every 2 months is too much? I don't mean in lessons, but a week or two full of exams. I feel this disrupts lesson time and revision too much.

Reply 1

Chlorophile

Original post by coatsoft

You've got a week full of exams every two months?! That certainly sounds completely over the top, we have one week a year of official mocks and that's it...

Reply 2

n_hundred

Mocks help, but only 1/3 benefit from them

Reply 3

Nicolalmh

I think it's more beneficial to do an old exam paper in class in controlled conditions and carry on the rest of the week with normal lessons. I missed 20 hours of lessons due to mock week, think how much content could be fit into that time!
However, I started at a new college and without the mocks I would have no idea how the exam situation worked there (where the seat numbers are, where bags are kept, how papers are handed out).

Reply 4

beyknowles

I think they're pointless. Their only said purpose is to see where we're going wrong, but we have past papers for this.

Reply 5

r-t

Original post by coatsoft

Most schools/colleges do mocks only in January but it is strange that you have it every 2 months. I am an A2 student so have done plenty of mocks. I do not find it that useful because if you do badly then it makes you feel like you're going to fail for the remainder of the year and give up which was the problem I had last year. At the end of the day you know where you are working at in your head and how much revision you do which is much more important than mocks. I also sometimes don't find teachers markings very accurate which could mean the results are also wrong aswell.

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Reply 6

coatsoft

Original post by Chlorophile

You've got a week full of exams every two months?! That certainly sounds completely over the top, we have one week a year of official mocks and that's it...

Well, my teachers seem to have really gotten into their spreadsheets as results took a dip last year and they've been expecting a visit from ofsted.

Reply 7

coatsoft

Original post by n_hundred

Mocks help, but only 1/3 benefit from them

It's safe to say I am part of the 2/3

Reply 8

H0PEL3SS

Original post by n_hundred

Mocks help, but only 1/3 benefit from them

I agree with this. However, the people who tend to benefit from them are the proactive and focused, who don't really need the extra push that mocks result in.

Reply 9

r-t

Original post by beyknowles

I think they're pointless. Their only said purpose is to see where we're going wrong, but we have past papers for this.

Yes but with past papers you can still look at the mark schemes before you do them so it doesn't really give you a valid result. However the whole point of mock exams are that you haven't seen the question paper or the mark scheme before so you couldn't prepare for it in advance so your result is more valid.

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Reply 10

CharmingCat

Original post by coatsoft

Although I dislike the prospect of freaking over exams, I think that mocks can be useful in the sense that they give you the one last push to get motivated and succeed in your GCSEs. Still, I can't believe that you endure them every two months - once a year is more than enough!