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Tests and Revision

Here in my school, and many other schools, we begin our GCSEs in year ten [English and Maths in year nine, sort of] and finish them in year eleven. Throughout the year we also have topically assessments, which basically just track our progress and check our understanding of what we've recently learned. Sometimes we will and something we won't get a warning of these assessments. Most teachers are nice and will actually let you know when you have a test coming up and what to revise or we take our work home. Some teachers, prefer to spring it on us and make us sit and do a test with absolutely no preparation or revision, then they get slightly annoyed when the majority of us fail..

On the other hand, you can go to the other extreme of things with teachers. Some of my teachers (Mostly my Biology teacher) will spend like three lessons 'revising', get us to take our work home AND set us homework that is to revise from the reivision books we got. There is something called over revising and that certainly is it. The funny part is, most of the class end up getting less than fifty percent in every Biology assessment. Extra revision does not pay off.

I don't actually understand the benefits of revision. I have spent the past few years, doing absolutely no revision for tests I'm expecting to fail and ending up with really good grades. But then, if we have revision lessons, I revise something that I'm unsure about then I think 'Okay, I know this' and it gets to the test/exam and I'm like, crap, because I have actually forgotten what I spent time and effort revising.

I'm constantly told that I will fail my GCSEs and A Levels if I do not revise loads, but I simply can't revise. You know that person in each of your classes, who never revises and get top marks and you generally hate them for this? That's me. And if you can't think of that person, it's probably you.

Most people think 'eh, that great, I would love to be able to do that.' No. It's annoying, because dedicated revision lessons are a complete waste of an hour for me. I either forget everything about a topic or stare into space thinking about stupid things like, how to describe the colour red, yep, that is what goes through my head quite frequently. And I get grief from my parents every few days saying 'you never do any revision' and when I try to explain, I get told I'm going to fail. Thanks mum. Thanks dad.

One example I tend to use quite often, at the beginning of last school year, for some reason, one of my teachers took an automatic dislike to me. For the start of the year I was like 'fair enough, it'll stop soon' and I kept up with my work and paid attention, I took part in the revision lessons, my grades were at like an E or a D. [That's really bad] After about three months, his dislike to me was blantantly obvious and was irritating me, so I stopped listening in lessons and I spent my revision lesson winding my teacher up and talking to people on iMessage. During which time, my grades went up to an A. I promise I did not revision at home and didn't pay attention in class. Like I'd do the work, but my teacher would come over and do a big red line through it, so I gave up and started messing around. How does that work? Because I can't revise.

In my school, we had a choice between French or German. I chose French because I use to go France a lot and I didn't really see why I would need to speak German. We use to have four tests, listening, writing, reading and speaking. The speaking and writing were always the long and boring ones. In these two tests, we would have to memorise a couple of paragraphs or eight to ten sentences or points [depending on what grade you wanted to get.] I usually forgot about these tests until my teacher called me up to do it or gave me the piece of lined paper. I ended up taking French for GCSE and my target grade is an A. You actually learn more from inprovisation than you do by memorising a piece of text, which is what me and two others, who went on to do GCSE French after being in my class, found out.

The same applies with me and English notes, they confuse me more than they help me.

Back to the subjects of 'tests' rather than revision. I had a maths test sprung on me on Tuesday. We walked into the class and all the desks were in lines, instead of groups of four to six, and one chair faced the front and one faced the left of the classroom [where the door is.] My friend called me and my other friend over, so that we sat in front of her. I sat on the chair that was facing the left because I didn't want to be able to see my teacher, since she hates me and something happens every single lesson.

My teacher said something like "We have an end of unit test, we've finished algebra now." And my friend and I have gone "YES!" If your teacher tells you that you've finished a topic you didn't like and this teacher doesn't like you, don't cheer, just save yourself the trouble and save your cheer for after the lesson.

So we've started this test. And within about three minutes I've finished the first page [there was only three.] And I've looked up as I've gone to turn the page over. The second I've looked up my teacher has said my name and asked me to move. This teacher, does not like me and she makes it obvious, so I've gone "What?" really rudely. So, she's walked over to a desk and pulled the chair out and repeated what she just said. So I've picked up my blazer, test and pen, deliberately leaving my bag there, and stormed over to this seat, which is like directly opposite my three friends in the corner. I then finished the test in a few minutes and turned the paper over and put my pen on it, at that point I assumed she thought I was cheating and I figured that would prove I could no longer 'cheat'. I was in such a strop, I turned my chair so I had my back to my teacher again and stared outside the door that I was sat next to. My teacher, kept walking over and checking on me, probably checking that I hadn't been cheating or talking or looking at anyone.

Eventually the test ended and we've done a few more like game like things in groups and I've refused to take part. By which point, I've gone back to where I was sitting before my teacher moved me and when she walked past me I've said to my friend "If I wanted to cheat, I would've got my phone out and I'm not stupid enough to get caught, she hates me, I swear." Bad idea.

The next day, I've hung back after maths and asked my teacher why she moved me; our conversation went something like this:

Me: Miss, I was wondering why you moved me yesterday?

Miss: I was watching you for over five minutes and you was looking at those two girls behind you for the whole time and not your paper.

Me: They weren't behind me and if that's true, how come I'd basically finished the paper in those 'five minutes'

Miss: I watched you not looking at your paper.

Me: The test hadn't even been going for five minutes, I did more work over there, without 'looking at my paper' than I did after you moved me.

Miss: Well, I'm sorry, but [obviously not sorry] that's what I saw.

Me: There was no way you could've even seen what way I was looking, if I was writing or if I had my pen in my hand. Maybe before you accuse someone of not doing a test and possibly cheating, you should check first.

Next time my mum tells me to 'keep my head down' in a class because the teacher hates me, I will take her literally, because apparently you're not allowed to look up for a single second during a test, sorry I was uncomfortable sitting rather close to two table legs and another person.

I'm quite sure maths will be worse next lesson since she now hates me even more now, but hey, don't argue with your teachers, it probably will make things worse. I should've just left it when she'd given me a reason, but it was almost like she was saying 'you wasn't doing any work and whatever you say is a lie' like that was the look in her eyes and I despise more than anything being called a liar and being ignored, which is what my maths teacher does most lessons to me, so I was quite annoyed with her.

Don't revise, revision sucks, don't wind up your teachers, it will effect you most because they're adults, they think they're superior to you, ha, sure.

For those of you who were wondering, I'm actually trying to get moved out of this class, so no getting told I'm wrong or stupid or accused of things or getting yelled at or getting ignored, if they actually move me out.

Comment with some of your test/revision stories or strategies, maybe they'll help me? And your stories may cheer me up and make me hate my own teacher more or we could just sympathyse together.