Do November Mocks matter?

Original post by HannahA2745

My mocks were today and I know I had done terribly in my maths exam probably below a pass because I didn't attempt most questions because it was so hard and my teacher didn't teach it to me. Do mocks really matter?

If this is your last set of mocks, then they matter a bit. They won't affect your final grades at all. However, they have a strong bearing on your predicted grades. Now, if you didn't do great in these mocks but demonstrated to your teachers that you're doing well (through other mocks, small tests or class work), your teachers may treat them as an outlier and your predicted grades may not be affected. But if you get a bad set of predicted grades, it may be harder to get into the sixth form courses that you want to.

Reply 4

username2961032

8

Original post by HannahA2745

My mocks were today and I know I had done terribly in my maths exam probably below a pass because I didn't attempt most questions because it was so hard and my teacher didn't teach it to me. Do mocks really matter?

was this the autumn mock of 2017 for edexcel maths?

Reply 5

username3502170

OP

7

Original post by Sammyboy1234

was this the autumn mock of 2017 for edexcel maths?

yes! it was so hard and I was so upset.

Reply 6

Original post by VirgoStrain

This is total rubbish. They use your actual results for college predictions. And so does the Fischer Trust when they predict A-Level results. GCSE mocks are immediately rendered worthless when you receive your final exam grade. If you skip the GCSE exam for a good reason however, that’s a different story. They might use it to predict a grade that the exam board will award you.

If anything's total rubbish, it's what you've said. How can a secondary school give predicted GCSE grade to colleges before the actual exam?

Of course the real GCSE grades aren't affected one bit by the mocks. But the mocks are the best data the school has to give predicted grades, at least until exam results day (which is far later than these predicted grades are issued).

Reply 7

Original post by VirgoStrain

You realise that you have A-Levels between GCSE and uni applications? You’re not applying to uni with GCSE’s. Please learn about the education system.

I'm talking about predicted grades for sixth-form, not predicted grades for unis. Please note that this thread is in the GCSE sub-forum, so it should be obvious.

Reply 8

Original post by VirgoStrain

If you’re aiming to remain in your current sixth form. Only final GCSE grades matter. Even if you’re applying for a different one they will judge who enters based on final results because people do over and underperform sometimes.

Of course they almost certainly won't instantly reject people based on predicted grades, but if they aren't high enough to get onto a certain course, it may not be easy to get onto the taster day course.

Reply 9

sophiepearce0

7

They are helpful to show you what you need to work on for the real exams and usually you have done a lot better than you think

Reply 10

Original post by VirgoStrain

This is total rubbish. They use your actual results for college predictions

The poster was referring to applications for 6th form, which are made before the GCSE results are available.

Original post by VirgoStrain

If you skip the GCSE exam for a good reason however, that’s a different story. They might use it to predict a grade that the exam board will award you.

They don't.

Reply 11

Purdy7

17

It depends if your in school or college.

Both will use them to predict your pass mark for the actual exam, so if for some reasons you don't get that mark they have a good case to put you forward for a remark.

In college it really doesn't matter that much as long as you are putting your homework in to show you are improving over time, and thus the teacher is happy for you to go into the exam. However, in some schools they wont put you into the exam unless you pass the mock, well they did in my day but that was a far while ago, hopefully it's changed now.

One thing to note is I went up a grade between mock and exam, as did some others in my class.

It does give you a good idea on what to expect from the exam and you can now revise harder to make sure you sail through it later on.

Reply 12

Original post by VirgoStrain

"They don't" erm excuse me I was given an entire assembly by the exam officer and this WAS the case. A previous student missed 2 weeks of exams due to ecoli and was awarded GCSE's in the missed subjects anyway based on past performance and predictions.

It was the case until about 12 years ago, but not since. Grades awarded when a student is absent are not based on the school's predictions - they're not even sent to the exam boards and haven't been for about 5 years - but on how the student has done in the other elements of the qualifications he has missed. How do I know? I am an exam officer.

Reply 13

Original post by VirgoStrain

So I must have been mislead. What do you mean by other elements - you mean like the ISA? I assume coursework can’t be considered that since it’s been abolished in humanities like geography.

The other elements are exams in that subject the student hasn't missed and coursework (if there is any). If you miss it all then they won't give you a grade unless (bizarrely) you are dead.

Reply 14

ismailali

10

Helps you and teachers

Reply 15

RedGiant

22

Original post by HannahA2745

My mocks were today and I know I had done terribly in my maths exam probably below a pass because I didn't attempt most questions because it was so hard and my teacher didn't teach it to me. Do mocks really matter?

They mean practically nothing. Take it from me who got the most A*s in my school, they do not mean anything whatsoever. I was getting Bs and As in my November mocks I think, and got almost all A*s in the summer. Just because they have little importance, it doesn't mean you should just slack off though - they could still be used to generate target grades (although these mean VERY little tbh). The only possible consequence of not doing well in November mocks is the chance of not getting an offer from a sixth form, if it's some highly prestigious 5A grade requirement sixth form (like mine is), as your target grades will be looked at. Even so the effect is negligible.

Reply 16