how are the mums and dads coping

[chez]

Absolutely disappointed and devastated- my DS passed practice papers with flying colours - 78/80 in A and PP1 and 75/80 in PP2 and has done all tests in the time.
Today - he only got to question 69 and missed 13 out as he ran out of time in what he thought was a medium test.
HELP! What do i do now? We'll just have to practice, practice, practice... between now and next week and hope he does better in the second one.
He is excellent in his vocab but took time in the maths

[chez]

trying hard not to show dissapointment - she said it went really well BUT she left out a whole section and two more answers - she didn't even guess them - we have drummed it so hard into her about what to do if she runs out of time that I am astounded she could do it again ! (she did the same in a practice paper) she was told 5 mins to go and said that she was waiting to be told 1 min and then guess the rest.

She get so absorbed in what she's doing she's in like her own world - anyway I feel I can have a bit of a rant on here - cause i have played it down and re-assured that it doesn't matter and that all she can do is learn from it and be a bit more prepared next week xxxxx

We had the same:(:( I think you've done a better job in not showing your disappointment though.Well done! I was surprised at my reaction.I think we were too positive and confident my DS would pass as he has been scoring high and finishing in time and in todays test he missed 13 out at the end as no time left. I am disappointed for all his hard work (and mine too). They have a second chance though so hopefully they will do better.

[Greta2]

Chez and Loli 34
It is really heart breaking when it doesn’t go to plan.... They are just children. And for all the will in the world, they can know every technique and on the day it just doesn’t come together.
My suggestion would be - deep breath. You are clearly shocked and upset and your child probably is too. Acknowledge the shock and get them to just tell it all in an “explain what happened... “ start from how the chairs were set out etc, let them tell you the story of it. You may well find that there is a reason – did they spend ages on one Z type question; were there a couple of codes that confounded them and took too much time. Or were they trying to be extra careful and so got slower. Try to get them to come up with the reason if they can as this will allow them to come up with the solution too. If they really don’t know, then it’s time for plan b.
Plan B is that – there is another test completely afresh next week, so they can draw a line under this one. Remind them that the next test might have more of the types they like in it. Go over techniques for keeping the speed up. Make sure that they at least mark something in every box. But keep up the confidence. Remind them we all learn from things that don’t go quite right but you know that they have shown in practice that they can do well.
I know it won’t stop you worrying (you should see my early posts from 2007, back in the days when everyone on here was guests, and the teacher mucked up the timing in DS1’s test...). You are on a journey with them through this and it is emotionally exhausting. But go easy on yourself (and your DC’s! ). I am sure others will be along with other suggestions soon...

[chez]

Thanks so much. Very sensible advice. I think my reaction/disappointment is due to all the time we've invested in it and he's worked hard the last six months on VR.We did discuss what went wrong. . He went to the type Z and decided to keep going one by one with 5 mins left instead of putting an answer in each one. I think its plan B for us and hope he gets through them more quickly.
We are going to do some more tests. Maybe I let him off too easy but not doing so many timed tests the few days before. We just did short tests to keep his momentum going and not to tire him out.

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[crecheout]

I am not sure that pushing him to do loads more timed tests is the answer, you may just end up exhausting him or making him really, really tense. I went to a parent teacher meeting this evening and was told that lots of children did not finish the paper today so do try not worry (easier said than done of course), your DS will certainly not be the only one that did not finish and if he got all the ones he did complete correct, because he was careful then he may well pass anyway.
My DD said that the maths ones were really hard today but worried me by saying that she finished really early, maybe she just rushed and guessed them all!.
I am no expert but maybe the lesson has now been learned and he can make sure he puts an answer in each box, even if it is only a guess on the 5 minutes to go warning.
I agree that we should all draw a line underneath all that happened today and look at next week as a fresh page.
We put so much pressure on ourselves as parents because this is probably the first time that we have had no control over what happens to our DC, until now we have controlled so much of their lives, friends, school, homework, sports, food, tv etc that it is a shock to realise that on this occasion we can only advise and be supportive, not do it all for them.
On a happier note, my DD told me that she spent the whole exam grinning like a cheshire cat as she believes that smiling makes you confident!!!

[duffymoon]

My daughter didn't think it was an easy paper and she's sure she got a few wrong - hopefully not too many ! This weekend I will try and refresh her on a few of the types she didn't see in this paper and hopefully keep her confidence high.

[loli34]

Hi - Yep I'm working along the lines as everyone else - drawing a line underneath yesterday and looking forward to next Weds - we are gonna spend a couple of hours at the weekend going through the types of questions and a bit of vocab.

DD says that she left a whole maths section (circled it to go back to as these take her to long) intended to go back and complete if time - time ran out and she didn't get chance to go back she also had two more questions to go so I am guessing she has left out possible 10 - so no room for any mistakes - we absolutley have to draw a line under yesterday.

Although we had talked about the 5 min warning a few times - I am going to re-iterate what she needs to do - no just gonna finish this !!!!! It's wierd cause she always finishes them at home - usually only with a couple of mins to spare - so I can only put it down to pressure environment etc.

Staying positive and looking forward to next Weds......

Good luck everyone

[mummytroubles]

FWIW

I think that what happens with some DC on the test itself is a tendency to just start off too slowly in a well-meaning attempt to be really careful. I had seen this happen for my own DCs when they did the familiarisation tests - they almost took it too seriously and suddenly became the most scrupulously careful students in the world!

All us parents know that the Bucks exam is a time test - that's why we stress ourselves out drilling our DC's on the technique - because no matter how bright they are there just isn't time to sit there and fathom out answers without having practiced a bit beforehand.

My advice to my DC has always been to whizz through the first answers (unless they're codes of course! But rarely come up first) because I know there have been times when halfway though the time she suddenly realises that she's only done 25 questions and then panic sets in.

I suspect in the majority of cases where candidates haven't found the paper too hard but struggle to finish, they have probably started off too slowly. Careful is great but gotta be quick too!!

Just a thought

[MrsChubbs]

Sorry to hear that things didn't go quite to plan on the first test for some of you. Please take heart from my readings of the last couple of years on this forum that it is very common for things like this to happen on the first test. It is unlikely that they will make the same mistakes second time around. Drawing a line under the first test (even if you only appear to do so in front of your DC's) is very important. They only have to get a pass on one paper.
Just think this time next week, it will be all over.
I'll be sending you all positive vibes for next week.

[blackbox31]

My son sat the exam yesterday, from practice tests he can usually tell accurately how well he thought he did in the test. Well, when I got home yesterday and asked him how he thought he did , he said that the paper was very hard, though he finished in time. He said the vocab was hard. I have told him to forget about the 1st paper as its done and dusted.

So for wednesday's test we are just doing more practice papers, roll on tuesday , will be glad when its all over.