22nd November 2024
HEADLINES
By James Saunders
WHAT’S IN A TEST? On Monday our C11s will begin their mock exams. And following on from that, I am sure that many teachers will be providing some formal assessments ahead of the end of term. On its own an assessment or mock exam serves little purpose other than to give us an indication of where a learner is in relation to the final outcome. Ultimately that is how everyone is assessed at the end of their GCSE journey (for now), however, before then we have the ability to use assessment more purposefully. As part of the learning journey, any assessment and its resultant feedback offers something to the learner. If they are not happy with the outcome they still have time to do something about it and guidance as to where they need to concentrate their efforts. I have however, heard quite a few times comments such as this: ‘they are only mocks, not the real thing’; ‘it’s just an in class test’; ‘it doesn’t really mean anything anyway’; ‘they are not the grades I will get in the summer’; ‘I don’t like sitting exams’; ‘I can’t do it - I get anxious in exams’. These are not uncommon feelings toward this part of the curriculum and guess what? No one really likes exams - I know I don’t. However, I would argue that they are an important part of a learners journey. To unpick that, let’s think about what the point of testing is in the first place - something I have often referred to in the past. Think about the possible things that require a test: a driving test; a blood test; a test match; a fitness test; a crash test. A driving test checks whether you have met a certain standard of knowledge and skill to be able (trusted even) to drive independently. A blood test is designed to diagnose you - to test whether there is a problem. A test match is a simple test to see who can perform the best. A fitness test diagnoses how fit you are. A crash test identifies weaknesses.
So what is the point of a mock or end of topic test? It is all of the above. Teachers will want to assess whether a learner has met a standard appropriate for their age - that they have made the right amount of progress; that they are able to independently master a certain body of knowledge and understanding. They will want to identify any problem areas so that they can then address these in their teaching. They will want to diagnose how much a learner has learnt and they will want to identify the weaknesses that need addressing. Sitting exams is tough. It is mentally and physically exhausting. It is perfectly normal to find this a struggle; to not want to do it in the first place. That gut wrenching feeling when entering an exam hall is very common. If you feel this you are not alone. Even today I feel this way if you put me in a high stakes test situation. However, what I have come to realise is that a little anxiety around exams and tests is quite normal. We want to do our best. We care. It means a lot to us. That’s why it can often cause us pain. But that pain is short - it does not last forever. In fact the only certainty regarding an exam is that after two hours it is over and so is the pain. C12 RETURNERS EVENING AND A FOND FAREWELL TO OUR CHAIR OF GOVERNORS Last night I had the pleasure of connecting with some former learners when I attended our C12 GCSE certificate evening. It was a pleasure to see them and hear about how they were getting on with the next step in their lives. I then got to hear from Tim Styles as he gave a motivational speech about curiosity and lifelong learning. Tim has been a governor of Honywood for twenty years and the chair for seven. Tim took over the role of chair at the same time as I started as headteacher of Honywood. He has supported me over the last seven years of developing our school and has been a great asset to the Honywood family. I