Disappointing Mock results

[Success999]

My ds gave two mock tests and surprisingly he dipped 6-7% marks (in English and maths )compared to what he used to get at home practice tests. We are really disappointed and it has shaken his confidence. I don't know what went wrong because at home I always timed his tests( occasionally I have given him extra time) and he consistently scored decent marks. Anybody has experienced this?

[Daogroupie]

This is the whole point of mocks; it shows you that what your dc can do in the cosy home environment will not be reproduced in a formal exam environment with invigilators and lots of other children. 6 to 7 % is brilliant, many take a dip of around 30%.

Do you have the detailed results? Was there one topic that he lost the marks on? DG

[Mum.my]

Please don't feel demotivated as we had a similar experience. Would like to share few points with you based on our experience :
1. Mocks are deliberately designed to be tougher than actual exam. We gave 4 mocks and none of them were reflective of the true situation as per my son.
2. The detailed result really helped us analyse his shortcomings. We were able to focus on them and iron them out before the real exam.
3. He was very behind in speed, we got to know this only through a mock. Thats when we started pushing him to do within time limit. Please always tell your child to move on and don't get stuck on one question, this is a very common problem.
4. His verbal was another weak area which got highlighted more in the mocks, his Maths was absolutely fine.
5. Please don't forget this is still early and they still have few months to prepare. They will improve with regular practice and will be much better prepared for the real thing.
6. The idea is to get them accustomed to writing exams in a new environment. My son was quite scared in the first one and so were we. This anxiety went down with each test, which is what you want.

[copella]

Agree with the other posts, see this as an opportunity to look at his weak areas and concentrate on these. My DS did not do well in his 11 plus mocks either. From his school work and tests at home I had assumed he would have no problem with English but the mocks proved me wrong. He also struggled with the multiple choice sheet and was a bit overwhelmed by the whole thing. It was good practice for the real thing as it also helped to settle him.

It was great that you put your ds in for mocks, if he had done well it could have made you complacent now you know you have work to do. I never worry about mock results they are just there to tell you which areas to concentrate on.

Are you going to sit more?

[Success999]

Thank you everyone for taking time to reply and reassure me, it is really appreciated.
We have received one detailed report and it showed that in English he had lost marks mostly on vocabulary questions and in maths we found out couple of weaknesses and silly mistakes.
One thing we realised that he has not yet got the sense of time. In first mock, he ran out of time so in second mock he rushed so much that he had twenty min to spare in both tests. I believe this is because he always used count down timer at home so he always new exactly how many minutes are left.
By school and home tests we had assumed that he is doing well so it was a surprise to see how much new environment can affect his performance. One way doing these mocks helped us to focus more. I really hope that in real exam he will do better.
I am really glad that I have found this forum where I can get quick advice from kind forum members.
Thank you.

[Daogroupie]

This is really good feedback that will help other forum members especially about the countdown timer. His papers at home should reflect the test environment that he will face and he will just have an ordinary clock that may be hard to see; so you need to get him a good clear watch and he needs to learn to use it to help him plan his timings.

He is lucky to have you as a parent and I am sure you will see much progress. Do you have other mocks planned? Is he doing Sutton? DG

[Awesomeanshi]

This is really good feedback that will help other forum members especially about the countdown timer. His papers at home should reflect the test environment that he will face and he will just have an ordinary clock that may be hard to see; so you need to get him a good clear watch and he needs to learn to use it to help him plan his timings.

He is lucky to have you as a parent and I am sure you will see much progress. Do you have other mocks planned? Is he doing Sutton? DG

Thank you all, such information sharing is useful for many parents like me indeed. Good luck

[tiffinboys]

Very good post, success999.

At later stage, we did some 15 minutes papers in Macdonald, which helped in improving concentration and dealing with distractions in the exam hall. Asking for water, going to loo, dropping pencils, crying, even singing, all sorts of distractions happen in the hall, it helps if children learn to deal with these and are able to focus on test paper in front of them.

[Daogroupie]

I know of a student who had another student faint on top of her and another with a student in front who cried all the way through the test. It is important not to do timed tests at home in silence as it will not be quiet. The noise of dropping pencils is practically non stop! DG

[Success999]

Thank you everyone.
I always thought that as my ds is very young(July born) he is lacking that maturity/common sense to deal with these problems. It is reassuring to know it is common.

We have bought ds a new wrist watch and stopped using the timer.
I think parents can use the Count down timer initially ,as it is easier ,then once child is confident and able to finish tests in given time ,should move on to the normal watch.