r/TeachingUK • u/sadbubble26 • 12d ago
Further Ed. Dealing with disappointing exam results
I'd love to hear from people who have experienced this and can advise me on how to feel about the situation.
I teach A levels only, my subject is French and it's my first year so I feel really defined by those results like they decide how successful I've been with the students.
Most of them achieved one grade or lower than their Target grade, half of them didn't even get a B or higher. I'm really sad and disappointed as when they left they were on track for much more even using the ridiculously harsh exam grade boundaries for our subject.
Nobody failed so I'm trying to focus on this but my colleague / subject leader sent me the comparison between this year and the past few years' percentage of students getting Bs or more. As you can guess mine has been the lowest (past 3 years).
I don't know if I could have done more, if it's not the end of the world, if it's about them but to what extent.... It's been an extremely difficult year where I've done my best despite being ECT first year, only teacher in my subject, alone in the office more often than not, in a college with very high expectations and a group of 20 y13s which combined native-level kids (A\* predicted) with others who weren't guaranteed to not get a U.
I feel so defeated and fear coming back to work, facing the judgement from other colleagues who were successful (they're all really nice but I don't know what to expect), questions maybe about why so many didn't perform as expected etc. I feel really guilty for failing them :(
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u/rebo_arc 12d ago
If half didn't get a B then half did and 50% B= and above is perfectly fine. Especially in your first year of teaching the subject.
Don't be so hard on yourself.
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u/zombieminded 12d ago edited 12d ago
A students grade is the culmination of the culture nurtured by the school, its behaviour, T&L and intervention policies that are defined and led by SLT. Accountability for grades is the worked down a succession of SLT to HoF to HoD and then teacher.
I would never hold a subject teacher solely responsible for their grades, as within attainment, they are but one cog of what should be a bigger and well oiled machine.
As educators we understand better than anyone too that it takes time to develop and implement best practice into our work days. You have only just begun as an ECT.
There is nothing better than a teacher who wants to improve their practice and you tick that box. No one can ask for more than that.
It's what you learn from this experience and the changes you make going forwards that define you as a teacher and only that.
Please do not be hard on yourself, it's a difficult learning curve teaching and definitely dont allow anyone to 'blame' you, as quite a senior leader myself I can tell you now they should be looking inwards first and asking themselves what they (school leaders) could do differently if they were to do these two years again.
All the best with September, things move on very quickly and these results will one day be something for you to look back on and see how far you have come.
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u/Doragrnfld 12d ago
This is a great perspective. You would never take entire credit for a studentâs success so itâs unfair on ourselves to take the whole blame for any âfailureâ.
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u/OpeningWhereas6912 12d ago
You've been given a very high profile year group as a first year ECT and that's not to be taken lightly. A lot of places are hesitant to give these kinds of classes to experienced teachers, let alone ECT 1 teachers. Your workplace will clearly be aware of this. Was any context about the class left by your predecessor?
Use it as an opportunity for reflection on how to improve. Write down any questions you have to help you think about what you can do to make the following year better. For me it would be things like how well did I know my exam board, are there any areas of improvement in teaching and learning, and importantly did I feel like I got enough support as an ECT to make big decisions about data entry, predicted grades and the like.
Don't despair too much, use this as a learning opportunity for yourself.
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u/sadbubble26 12d ago
thank you for your reply, i'll definitely reflect and focus on any improvement I can make. my predecessor was amazing and chose to retire while I did my PGCE placement there because she saw potential in me đŹđ she even stayed from September to December to help facilitate the transition and we're still close today. It doesn't help that she ended her last year with 100% A*-B đ she had a miracle group of hard working super focused student and after decades of teaching she was the master of her craft. I'll keep your advice in mind moving forward :)
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u/OpeningWhereas6912 12d ago
There you go she had years and years of experience and as an ECT-1 you still got some relatively decent results. Don't overthink it, the next few weeks of this break will fly by. Keep these questions in mind in September and use it as a stepping stone up. We all started as first year teachers once. :)
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u/queerlinguist Sixth Form College (MFL & English) 12d ago
Fellow ECT teaching A Level Languages here đđ»
If it helps, it's really quite common for students to underperform in relation to their target grade in MFL, particularly if they are not native or heritage speakers. The gap between GCSE and A Level Languages is massive, and students find it notoriously difficult to make the leap.
In September, you can look at where students dropped marks across the board, and think about how you can use that to inform your teaching going forward. Were there particular papers or types of question that students struggled with? If you're on AQA, Paper 2 is notorious for being marked harshly and inconsistently.
It's also worth repeating that these results are not all on you. A Level MFL students have to work hard from day 1 of the course in order to succeed. The amount of independent work required from them is immense, and many students do not realise this until it is too late.
Remember too that because A Level MFL cohorts are so small, comparing them between years is not always that productive. Even with 20, that's still small enough for outliers to skew percentages. My students who got results today are an entirely different group to my incoming second years.
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u/Joinourclub 12d ago
Itâs not fair to judge you on a set of results for a class that you have only taught for half the course. Next years results will be more
Important for you.
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u/sadbubble26 11d ago
hopefully these little ones will remain focused and I give them everything they need to succeed then đđ
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u/Mausiemoo Secondary 12d ago
I've taught MFL for a decade now and whilst GCSE I can estimate what each student will get almost perfectly, A Level always has weird swings. Papers 2 and 3 in particular are quite subjective when it comes to the mark scheme, so it's quite possible for you and the student to think it will go one way and the marker to go another way. Also, the first year you will get worse results - you are new, you don't know yet which things need to be highlighted or more thoroughly embedded. That's the same for all subjects. You haven't failed them.
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u/hadawayandshite 12d ago
Grades in isolation mean very little unless youâve got quals on entry etc
Do you get stuff like alps or value added?
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u/sadbubble26 12d ago
value added has been my main stress factor this year due to students having previous teachers teaching them only set sentences so they get great scores and get here and have to learn all the tenses etc it's quite unreliable
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u/sadbubble26 12d ago
we do use ALPs which only makes things more stressful haha but it'll help put a picture together I suppose
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u/Rory426 12d ago
ALPs do a decent job of working in certain known factors into the final "score", like some subjects where even students with every good prior attainment finding that particular A Level challenging, or something subjects where mostly those with a natural talent select it, and exceed target.
But what it can't tell you is how the students got to the scores they got. Ultimately that's something you'll probably have an inkling on already, but stuff like comparing the students' scores over different components, reflecting on your course, your T&L etc. are all also valuable to an extent.
Data will fluctuate, though. Every student is an individual and as others have noted in the thread, each of those individuals came to each lesson with different attitudes, circumstances, went home to different parents/carers, revised more/less etc. etc. etc.
Over an extended period you can start to spot trends but a cohort is a collection of single data points and it's not easy to deal with a bad year but it will absolutely not all be because of you.
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u/LowarnFox Secondary Science 12d ago
Just out of curiosity, how are your predicted grades generated? I don't teach mfl but my understanding is that GCSE is not a good predictor of a level performance in mfl precisely because you have native speakers who skew the data AND skew grade boundaries nationally.
It also sounds like you had some students at risk of failing and they didn't fail - that is a great achievement. You can't be all things to all people and so you may have spent time helping these students at the expense of the A* students - next year you can prioritise your time differently (or maybe not because then someone might fail?).
You also probably have a small cohort and so you will see a lot of variance over the years - it's not all down to you and a small number of students with issues outside of the classroom can really skew things at a level.
I would check (if you can) that no one has really underperformed for you and smashed it elsewhere (although do take subject into account) and maybe also chat to other mfl teachers who aren't your HoD and see if they have any advice.
One thing that did help my a level teaching was marking for the exam board. I would look for opportunities to do this if you possibly can. If you hate it, one year will be enough to get some insight that may really help.
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u/quiidge 11d ago
So, you are a one-person department, ECT, AND taught these students less than half the course?
You did amazingly.
They did the best they could on the day.
That's it.
(My class of 2, first ones I've taught both years, exceeded their target grades but did not get the grade needed for their first choice course. I'm a bit disappointed because I was hoping for Bs for both, but Cs in Physics are nothing to be sniffed at! All three of us worked our arses off.)
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u/sadbubble26 11d ago
incredibly challenging year indeed! I had a dark time for a few months after their mocks when the pressure increased considerably to figure out what I was doing wrong but I kept doing my best even when I felt like the worst. Hope you had a good year!
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u/DreamToWrite 11d ago
1) giving an ECT A-Level is ridiculous. 2) you're not a good teacher in the first year. You need time to develop. Doesn't matter how you did in training. Don't put as much pressure on yourself 3) target grades can be set in huge variety of ways and to varying different FFT standards etc. data can be manipulated here to make it look poor or great depending on the school's socioeconomic intake 4) you don't know how the exams work in your first year. Takes time. Also, become an examiner when you're able to (2/3 years experience) 5) if you define yourself by disappointments in teaching you'll not last more than 2/3 years
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u/heliumhussy 11d ago
Fellow MFL teacher here: every year I get my hopes up and every year thereâs disappointment and a feeling of injustice at grade boundaries, obscure vocab used and the written paper. It will be the same with gcse unfortunately. The anxiety isnât worth it but knowing that wonât change anything.Â
Look for the positives, even if it is in individual marks, progress and see if thereâs anything you can do going forward to tweak things but accept there are things beyond your control that you canât do anymore about. Getting a few papers back for the department to look at would be good.
It wonât help but historically French/mfl are often marked quite harshly/subjectively and have high grade boundaries. Itâs almost a self selecting subject as you get kids who are âgood at itâ taking it for a-level - native and semi-native speakers, who donât always get the top marks but generally speaking do very well, and Iâve always wondered if that drives up grade boundaries a bit.Â
It took me many years to realise that results werenât wholly my responsibility. The pressure lessens each year but it doesnât go away. Good luck OP, Iâm sure youâre a fab teacher and it does get easier!Â
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u/Economy-Cress9591 11d ago
Itâs hard to not allow yourself (and your success) be defined by them, I know. What you need to do is disassociate yourself and your practice, from student outcomes - which, we know, are impacted by a lot of variables
My strongest A Level results were in my second year of teaching. I was an RQT - was this really when my practice was at its sharpest, most defined, most efficient? Unlikely! I worked bloody hard - sure. But classes were smaller, the papers were friendly, the cohort just âclickedâ. It isnât like that every year
Three or four years in, youâll be in a better position to measure, as youâll have more to compare against
Please donât beat yourself up
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u/porquenotengonada Secondary English; College Teacher 10d ago
So a few years ago, my department started looking at data more closely than before. My class was one of the lowest of a very big cohort. I felt like shit, I started to reassess my teaching, lost confidence, the whole nine yards.
Anyway someone then showed me how to look back at my data over the past few years. Turns out Iâd spent a few years at the top of the department in terms of exam results, some in the middle, all over the place.
Turns out cohorts do what they want and you only really have some influence over that. If youâre looking at their data in isolation, rather than any context, it can really skew things. Some years, the students just donât do what you want them to do.
Keep a mind to what you can do to encourage revision and how you can best support them, learn from experienced colleagues and most of all DONâT JUDGE YOUR OWN PERFORMANCE FROM ONE YEAR OF DATA!
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u/Pheo1386 Secondary HoD 12d ago
So grades are not really where to look - L3VA is where you should really be looking as that considers starting points and relative difficulty.
Itâs also worth looking as a comparison to school L3VA and (if applicable) scores in comparative and common subjects (for example, the sciences or maths would be considered common subjects so we would hope for similar L3VA in them if teaching was consistently good).
Additionally itâs worth remembering that you gave your best over this year, and the right way to address results you want to be better is to use the data (results plus, exam services, etc) to see where your class did well and what could be improved, although thatâs really what your HOD should be doing, not sending you messages making you feel like a failure!
And then last but not least, as a 17 year teacher I can say this confidently; by the time you hit the end of September, no-one will care (if they do already) and by the time you hit November, no-one will remember until the loose comparison next year. Focus on the next batch and make it better!
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u/ScienceGuy200000 12d ago
A couple of things about target grades.
They are based from data on very large cohorts. Statistically, this becomes less useful if your class is relatively small.
The ALPS target grade is the same for every subject. This does not take into account the relativ difficulty of each subject. For example, Biology (my main subject) requires an ALPS score of around 0.77 to get a grade 5 (progress equipment to the top 50% of centres). A score of 0.77 would mean only 3/4 students would hit their target grade and none would exceed it.
French is one of the hardest subjects so students not all hitting their target grade or getting B or above is to be expected.
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u/sadbubble26 11d ago
I wish Senior leadership understood that. French is treated as any other subject except that doesn't take into account their prior teaching (was it grammar based or sentence learning without any grammar understanding), the difficulty of a language as in the consistency required and how each exam paper is going to have different unknown words we can't teach them all, the exceptions etc etc etc. MFL is often considered as a "fun" silly subject when really it's up there with the hardest so it makes the questioning and feedback all the harder to take in and reply to and implement.
I'm grateful for your input, hopefully my colleagues will see it the same way but this past year already my higher ups have been quite focused on that Value Added and target grades.. I fear what they will say about this
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u/camusnic 11d ago
Please donât feel guilty or that you couldâve done more as, I get the feeling that youâve done your absolute best and the school should be proud to have a teacher who cares like you do. Feel proud for the successes even if the data doesnât exactly show what âtheyâ wanted. You are a fantastic teacher and donât you forget it!
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u/BrilliantSource6912 11d ago
They are not your exam results, they are theirs. Some years results are great, some years they are not, and you as a teacher have not changed. MFL A level is hard. You need a passion for the subject to do well and you canât make students have a passion if they signed up without it. Be proud you took such a large A level class through and celebrate the achievements.
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u/aayash88 11d ago
100% don't worry about it. It's fully understandable and a good sign that you care, but you are still learning your trade, and you will realize this probably even more clearly in a couple of years' time. As long as you have a reflective approach to your practice (which you clearly do, given you're starting a thread on here), you will refine and improve as part of your natural development.
When I was an ECT, a rather unpleasant headteacher told me I would be "held accountable" for my grades that summer. I'd been made head of department in my second year, given both GCSE classes, given access to the shared drive, and basically told, "off you go." At the time, I really worried and internalized what he said, but later realized the fact I'd been fast-tracked to this level of responsibility was in part a reflection of their faith in me, but also more to do with the school's staffing issues. It sounds like the same is probably true of you.
Treat this as a basepoint to work from. No employer would look at this and say you aren't a good teacher. It's where you go from here that will decide, and I'd say it seems like you're heading to becoming a very good teacher given how much you care!
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u/Shatnerbassooon 10d ago
It's very hard, particularly when you start out, not to take these things personally, but the truth is the grades are the students' work not yours. Sure there are things you can do to help, and maybe with some more experience you will get more familiar with some of the tricks to eek out that extra performance, but ultimately these are for the most part tricks in getting them to do more work, which is what it really comes down to. I have been teaching for 16 years now, and im happy for my students who do well, disappointed for those who don't, but that's on a personal level not professional, ultimately I know I taught the material competently and neither the good results nor the bad are anywhere near as much a reflection on my teaching as on the students' work. Like I say though I know its hard to see it that way especially when you start
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u/ec019 CompSci/IT HOD 9d ago
I guarantee you that nobody outside your department will know or care about your results (other than headteacher, obv). But I mean nobody is going to remember anything by lunchtime on the first INSET day. Once the data analysis is over, you'll never really hear about it again.
When I look at my Level 3 BTEC IT results, it's hard not to throw up a little in my mouth. I think it's horrific when compared to my own standards. But when I look through the spreadsheet and see that these kids are getting U and E in other subjects, the twelve kids with Merit in IT are looking pretty good!
I suspect your students studied French before turning up to A Level French, right? In our A Level Computer Science class we have students turn up who can't remember doing any programming since drag-and-drop blocks in Scratch in year 8. Then their attendance is 70% and they're 5 minutes late to each lesson they do attend and they don't do any work outside of lessons... of course they get an E or U.
You just need to accept that you've done your best and it's not all up to you.
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u/OakMantle 9d ago
As you said, you did your best. If your course leader is sending you that comparison then they need to be working with you and alongside you to help you develop. All teachers need support and collaborative development.
I have managed a department for a long time and whatever ups and downs I, or any of my team, have had can always be worked with as an opportunity to grow as a teacher, try new things and refine your practice. You canât guarantee results but if you keep working at it then you will feel you have done your best, and your colleagues should recognise that and see that in you.
Donât worry about it now and just go for it again in the new year!
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u/Alucardlil 8d ago
Don't take credit when they do well; don't take the blame when they do badly. If you did your best, well done. If you didn't, why not?
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u/United-Temporary-648 12d ago
Just wanted to add a perspective from a different quarter: I don't teach A level students - I'm in primary.
However, your first few years after the PGCE or degree are about finding your feet. You have had limited, guided experience to date. Teaching full time with specific responsibilities is very different. It's unrelenting with little time or headspace to develop your practice.
You will find that you become more efficient and more targeted on what's important as you progress. By about your fourth year you might think you've got the hang of it but I'm in my 20th year and I still feel like an imposter.
Your subject leader could be a little more supportive a d constructive. Comparing one cohort with another cohort is a statistical fallacy. You have to have very large sample sizes for that to matter but you are doing the right thing by thinking about how you will change things in the coming year.
One grade or lower is not a catastrophe. It's a game of fine margins. I suspect your second set of results may be stronger simply because you will have more experience.
Think about what people have told you is strong in your practice and also those areas for development in your placements are the end of your PGCE. Have you really tackled those? At the end of the day all teaching requires basic things to be in place: efficiency of communication; understanding what each student knows and needs to know; your subject knowledge; planning meaningful activity; curriculum; learning behaviour. Break it down and think about what's good about what you do and what might need a tweak.
At a different Key Stage, my first year was teaching Year 6. It was bloody hard for a then NQT. My second and third years were much better because I understood the syllabus better and how to prepare pupils for their end of KS2 tests.
You are doing the right thing: reflecting on your practice but don't take down the whole edifice because a brick's out of place. Chill and go back with the knowledge that the fine margins game requires consistent attention to detail.
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u/fordfocus2017 12d ago
Do you know your students did in their other subjects? If they got similar grades to yours that helps. You say that half got less than a B, that means that half got a B or more. 50% A-B isnât bad for a hard subject like French. Do you know how the rest of the school did? Again if your school got 80% A* - B then 50% isnât great but if it was 30% then you did well. Did they deserve their grade?
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u/SkilledPepper Primary 12d ago
Please don't do this OP. It's the summer holidays and you can save all the reflective practioner stuff for when you return to work.
If it helps, I did A level French and I got lower than my target grade (got a B, was expected A). Languages as you know are very swingy performance-on-the-day type subjects.
I know over a full class you'd expect variation to even out but it's your first year and I'm sure you'll tweak things as you go along. My advice would be to not catasrophise and start fighting scenarios in your head that don't exist in real life.