So, the Mocks are over for this year and 3^rd and 6^th Year students should be enjoying a well-earned rest over the mid-term break. But once they return to school, everyone will be eagerly awaiting the results. Hopefully, all will go well but here are 5 tips on what to do if the results are less than expected.

Feedback not Failure

Remember, you are not your results! The Mocks results are simply feedback on how things are going. If someone got 100% on a paper, this does not mean that they know everything about that subject. It just means that they knew the answers to those particular questions. Likewise, if your results are disappointing, it does not mean that you know nothing about the subject. It just means that you didn’t know or understand the answers to those specific questions. The wonderful thing now is that you know where to focus your study going forward and you have plenty of time (its only February!) to catch up.

Admit your faults

Much as you’d like to blame your teachers, the company setting the exams or external correctors, eventually you need to look honestly at yourself. You cannot control your teachers, the exam questions or how papers are marked, but you can control how you react to your results. Be honest with yourself. Did you study enough? Did you study effectively or were you busy being busy? Were you burning the midnight oil and were wreaked for the exam? Did you cram? Did you deliberately leave out sections hoping they wouldn’t come up? Are there sections that you don’t understand & need help on? Were you skipping classes? Did you properly time your answers? Did you read the questions properly & answer the question asked? Most likely you know, deep down, why the exam didn’t go so well. Admitting it to yourself is the first step to addressing the changes you need to make to improve your grade.

Talk to your teacher

Most teachers care for their students and want them to do well. You may be embarrassed about your results or you may be angry with your teacher, but you need to get over yourself and talk to them. If there are sections that you don’t understand, then ask for help. Remember, the teacher is getting feedback too from the mocks. Maybe they need to go over sections with the entire class, not just you. If you need individual attention, ask to meet them privately. If you are doing a Higher-Level course and are considering moving to Ordinary-Level based on the Mocks, discuss this with your subject teacher in conjunction with your careers teacher.

Just the Mocks

While in the lead up to the Mocks, you were told that they were important, the reality is that they have no official standing whatsoever. In the future, nobody is ever going to ask you what results you got in your mocks. They are just a practice exam. Treat them as this and put the results behind you.

Keep Going

The great thing about the past is that its over. Your mocks are in the past so leave them there! They were just a certain set of questions, on a certain day, in which you gave a certain answer. Now you have the feedback on those answers & can learn where the gaps were, or how to time your answers better. There is plenty of time before the actual state exams. You can improve. You just need to believe in yourself, make the changes you need to make and keep going.

It is important to be pragmatic when evaluating your grades in the Mocks. In truth, a student will know when they are truly struggling or just not working enough. For more on how to make studying easy, contact us on 087 2996054 or elaine@hummingbirdlearning.com for details on our Study Success Program.