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Are mock exam that important?

03/08/2013 02:25:00 BY MPHIYAKHE M. NTULI

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“Teaching is very easy and anyone can do it, but teaching them to pass is no ordinary job, only dedicated teachers can manage”, Anonymous.
I was shocked to learn that in some schools a number of teachers left pupils unsupervised during the mock examination and rushed to be part-time employees under the Elections and Border Committee.

We know that the national elections are important just as much as we are aware that those assisting in these current elections will get a token of appreciation. But we also need to understand that the mock examinations are equally important. I would be further shocked to discover that some of these teachers have not even finished their respective syllabi. I hope they have magic to make all the pupils pass exceptionally well in their final exams.
Mock exams are sometimes known as pre-tests. Pre-test administration simulates the real exam, so that students not only experience the kind of questions they will face in their live exam, but also complete the answer sheets in a ‘test-like’ environment (Cambridge 2008).

Wimbledon College (2007) states that taking mocks seriously is good practice for the real thing, it will give you confidence.
According to Secondary Education (2013) pre-test are important because:
1. They allow teachers to see if what is being covered in the lessons or units have been mastered.

2. They help measure true learning.

3. They can give students a review of what will be expected of them in the final exam.

4. They help generate ideas for future lessons depending on the way the pre-tests were created.
Most schools which take the mock examination very seriously normally get very good results in the final examination. The reverse is true in schools where the mock examination is not given the dignity it deserves.

It should come as no shock when the school achieves poor results in the final examination. The mock examination gives the school the feedback it desires before the final exam. If administrators and teachers don’t pay attention to the mock examination, then they don’t qualify to be in this profession. Remember, the final examination is knocking on the door. Act or perish!

RESEARCH OF THE WEEK

How to make good use of the Mock Exam.

Researcher: Mphiyakhe M Ntuli.

INTRODUCTION

This is just a mini survey, based on the researcher’s experience, whilst working with a number of schools in the country. The importance of mock examinations will never be underrated. Any person or pupil who looks down upon the mock exam is like a driver who deliberately ignores the road signs ahead.

DISCUSSIONS

The following can be drawn from the mock examination:
1. Syllabus coverage: The expectation is that, by the time the completing classes go for the mock examinations; they have already finished the syllabus. That is very true with most excelling schools in the country. Unfortunately most poorly performing schools take the opposite route.

2. The teaching and learning process: The mock examination gives prompt feedback to the teachers and learners on the effectiveness of the teaching and learning process. If students do poorly in the mock examination, the entire school should be very concerned. The teachers need to visit the mock and pupils scripts to establish exactly what went wrong. It helps when the administrators are close too.

3. Handling exam malpractices: A number of malpractices happen during the final examination. Every year schools go under heavy questioning and investigation. The mock examination helps the school understand and develop better strategies on how to handle common and new exam malpractices. If the school does not strictly invigilate the mock examination, it gives pupils false hopes, how they will successfully cheat during the final examination. At the end of the day, tainting the good name of the school. The mock should send clear signals to all pupils that they need to study and not rely on copying, in order to pass.

4. Time management: All parties need to be clear on how to manage time during the final examination. Pupils need to practice scheduling their time during exams. The staff needs to note what it takes to run the final examination, as dictated by the Exams Council.

5. Exam stress and anxiety: A number of pupils who struggle in the final exams are those who don’t respect the mock examination. Respecting the mock means approaching it as if it is the final examination. In that way, you learn to understand the strategies you need to employ during studying and taking the final examination. The mock examination helps students understand how to manage stress and anxiety in the final exam.

6. Understanding key words: Most pupils don’t fail the examination because they haven’t studied. Sometimes they just don’t understand some key common exam words. Evaluate, analyse, justify, distinguish, and other related words, are common exam words which can distract the students during the exam. Expose them to these key words.

7. Final grade: All parties need to learn something from the final pupil’s mock results. The school administration and staff needs to clear the type of interventions based on the pupils outcomes. It is the duty of the administrators to monitor the pupils’ performance during the mock examination and further instruct the teachers accordingly. If the head teacher doesn’t want to panic after the final examination, he/she better panic during the mock examination. The head teacher should request all parties to give cause why the performances is mediocre if it so becomes. All teachers need to do introspections based on the results of the mock examination, and act accordingly. Parents need to do introspections too. If the PTA/ School Committee is concerned about the school performance, it needs to draw something from the mock examination and assist the school in preparing for the final exam.