Having just marked 3 classes worth from my Year 13s and with the year 12s Mock Week commencing Monday, it is worth brief consideration of what a practice exam's value is and how that might be changing.
Mocks are the place to garner exam technique, especially to resolve any timing issues. Teaching staff have little to no time to dedicate other lessons towards timed, in class, assessments because of the growing content expectations of the new A levels. Also they are an important check on understanding secured, especially links between subject topics that are, again, hard to consistently revisit given content pressures.
Additionally now the new linear A level structure places a much greater emphasis on long-term retention of understanding and knowledge. Teachers have always urged students to consolidate their learning by revisiting in their own time topics already covered in class, however a mock exam often provides the urgency to deliver on this expectation. The same holds for the end of Year 12 exams, whatever their format. Should weaknesses and a lack of diligence in this area be exposed, then there really is still time to tackle the issues exposed and recommit to a continuous learning programme across the latter part of Year 12 and with the lessons learned in terms of preparation for the ever more crucial second summer of A level study.
